The legendary King of theives
by TheChosenOne89
Summary: A girl comes across Kuronues pendant...
1. Chapter 1

Yellow, orange, and red leaves crunched beneath her feet, her blue-eyed companion trotting happily about enjoying the cool breeze. "Alice!" the girl called out, the husky tilted her head to the side before running up to her master, wagging her tail excitedly. She had fierce, piercing blue eyes, her face was mostly white with a twinge of black. The girl herself had piercing blue eyes much like Alice's and long blonde hair.

She wore a camouflage tank top with a dark green pair of shorts , her name Cheza. They were deep in the woods around her apartment, eerie noises could always be heard at night coming from these woods. "Let's get back home it's getting dark" Cheza commented while running back towards the apartments. She only had one neighbor..no one else wanted to live near these woods, people were always saying the woods were haunted. But these were the cheapest apartments around and they were actually really nice inside, just a little creepy since all the other rooms were vacant except for a few doors down.

She took site of her only neighbors who were yelling back and forth. "YUSUKE! YOU BETTER NOT BE GONE LONG THIS TIME! YOU DISSAPEAR AND I DONT HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU FOR WEEKS SOMETIMES!" Cheza had talked to her quite a few times, her name she had learned was Keiko. They had moved in about half a year ago, they were a cute couple she had thought they were a bit strange though. She would hear them talking about "demons" and "spirit world" and weird things like that sometimes. Cheza made her way up the old wooden steps and to her apartment, Alice right behind her. Keiko had yet to notice Cheza and continued to yell at Yusuke, Yusuke on the other hand was watching Cheza's every movement. Cheza opened her door noticing her flowers were wilting outside making a mental note to actually remember to water them.

Yusuke's brown orbs settled on Cheza who was unlocking her apartment door behind Keiko. He had drowned Keiko's voice out and was pondering about what Cheza looked like naked. SLAP! "Hey Im talking to you! snap out of it!" Keiko shouted. "OWW WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" Yusuke shouted. Keiko crossed her arms glaring at Yusuke. "Sorry Keiko but I have to get going...I promise I'll be back as soon as I can!" before Keiko could respond Yusuke kissed her and dashed off down the stairs.

Cheza flopped down on her couch staring up at the ceiling.

"Come on Urameshi! We're gonna be late!" Cheza recognized the voice right away as the big orange haired oaf that came around quite a lot. "I give you my word Keiko... Yusuke will be fine..we should be back by late tonight" came a soft voice that Cheza did not recognize. Letting her curiosity get the better of her she peeped through her window, making only her eye visible and took site of a handsome red head. Keiko had a worried look in her eye but she nodded and put on a fake smile. What was she so worried about? Was Yusuke like a secret agent or something? a trained assassin? Shaking the thoughts from her head she made her way to her shower getting ready for a night out with her friends.

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Ready to hit the drinks, Cheza exited leaving Alice to guard the fortress. A sweet scent flooded her nose as she looked over at the flowers she had noted needed water earlier. They looked beautiful! *that's weird* she thought. They were practically dead earlier and now they looked like they could win first place in a flower contest.

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It was about 2:30 in the morning before Cheza made her way back home, it took all she had to just walk. She had a little to many beers, everything blurred together as she stumbled up the steps and to her apartment. She stopped as she reached the final step noticing her door was wide open. "Alice?" she said shakily but there was no answer. "ALICE"" she yelled frantically after hearing a loud yelp come from the pitch blackness of the woods. Hesitantly she made her way back down the stairs still stumbling at every step, entering the woods she used her cell phone for light. She heard a low growl to her side, turning she flashed her phone in the direction spotting Alice who was in a threatening stance, her teeth barred. Cheza could hear her heart pounding, scared to shine the light at the source that threatened Alice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kuramas POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That was a pain in the ass!" Yusuke commented walking alongside Kuwabara and myself. Within a few minutes we had reached Yusuke's apartment, exchanging my farewell I left in a hurry not wanting mother to be worried sick about me, after all it was nearly 3 in the morning. While walking back a light from the corner of my eye caught my attention, an outline of a girl stumbling into the woods was all I could make out in the darkness. I sensed something strange coming from those woods, I always did but I could never quite put my finger on it. I had stopped abruptly and was contemplating on if I should keep going or go find the girl, this was a very dangerous place for a girl to be wandering around at night .My thoughts dispersed when I heard an ear piercing scream that caused me to flinch.

/\/\/\/\/\

She kicked and struggled at her attacker as she felt something warm run down the side of her face. Alice lunged forward biting into the green flesh of the mysterious creature which let out a yelp. She had yet to catch a good glimpse of what Alice was attacking, all she had seen when she shone the light in its direction was a pair of crimson eyes that sent chills down her spine.

Cheza stumbled to her feet as Alice viciously thrashed the creatures arm around. She took shelter behind a large tree that looked as old as time itself. Cheza shined her light on Alice finally catching site of what had been attacking her. The creature's body was green, it stood at least 6'0 and had large pointy teeth, she slammed her phone shut as the creature eyed her menacingly. There was nothing but darkness now. Seconds felt like hours as she tried to contemplate what to do. A foul odor flooded her senses and soon the source made itself known. The monster was now eye to eye with Cheza, who was shaking like a leaf. Again Alice lunged this time taking hold of the creature's throat, thrashing wildly. The creature snarled and screeched , soon a loud thump was heard then deafening silence. Cheza opened her phone shining the light on the corpse, a green liquid bubbled from its body, she assumed it was blood. She turned her attention to Alice who was drenched in green ooze, her jaws still clamped down on the neck of the monster. Something shiny around the creature's neck caught her attention, reluctantly she walked forward reaching her hand out towards the mysterious object. Yanking it from the beasts neck she felt something hot..very hot! She instantly let go of what she now discovered was a pendant. A blinding red light emitted from the pendant and soon she noticed something weird...really weird. What appeared to be an orb of light coming out of the demon was being sucked into the pendant. Cheza quickly spun around at the sound of footsteps running towards her. She quickly grabbed the pendant and shoved it in the pocket of her shorts. A silhouette of something..or someone became visible, her heart began to pound again...were there more of these things?

Kuramas pov

I took off running into the woods not knowing what to expect, what I heard was the sound of a demon in pain. Fumbling around in my pocket I pulled out my cellphone for light but saw nothing. I quickly followed the sound of a dog growling and soon came face to face with the source. The dog was covered in demon blood. I quickly became aware of what had happened, which came as a shock to me. The dog had protected the girl and killed the demon. I did not see the girl but I could sense her aura near me. I shined the light instantly behind me when I heard rustling of leaves coming from behind a large tree. "Your safe now, you can come out" I whispered and soon a pair of enticing blue eyes peered from behind the tree.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

She recognized the voice but didn't know who it belonged to. Was this all a bad dream? Unsure of what to do she stayed behind the tree, peeking from behind it. With the light from the stranger's phone she took site of who had called out to her, it was the handsome redhead from earlier.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kuramas pov ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I could sense the girl's fear. I needed to get her out of here before anymore demons made their presence dog quickly ran to her side nudging her softly. I was lost in her eyes, they were like none I had ever seen. "What is that thing!" she asked me, it was apparent there was fear in her voice. I wasn't quite sure how to respond, if I told her it was a demon what would she do? maybe I should just have Koenma erase her memory? I watched her every movement as she got to her feet, "I'm gonna have to give you a bath now" she muttered. Her dog lowered its head, I figured the dog didn't like that idea to much. I chuckled, "Yes I think that would be a good idea". Her stunning eyes locked onto mine, "You don't seem weirded out at all by this...what exactly is this thing?" she said poking it with a stick. I was at a loss of words so I quickly changed the subject, "Do you live near here?" I questioned. She nodded pointing towards the apartments Yusuke lived in. "I don't like being out here" she said looking around cautiously. "Don't worry I'll walk you to your door" I replied. She seemed less tense at my words, giving one last glance at the demon she stumbled to my side. I took her scent in, all I smelt was alcohol and blood. "You're bleeding" I had smelt her blood earlier but was a bit distracted to mention it at the time. "It's not green is it?" she said jokingly. I smiled, "No but it does require some medical attention". "I'll be fine...I just hope I don't start growing horns or something now..." I chuckled. She had no idea that what had attacked her was a demon. I kept on high alert as we made our way back to her apartment. She held onto my hand with a death grip. Quite a few times I had caught her before she fell, she appeared to be quite drunk. Finally we managed to make it to her door, "Please let me help you with your wounds before I go" She seemed to tense up a bit at what I had said but she nodded.

/Cheza's pov/\/\/\\

I didn't know what to make of this guy, he was very attractive and I could tell he was quite intelligent. I didn't trust him though, that thing that had attacked me didn't even phase him..it was as if he had seen one before. I decided not to ask any more questions about it since he seemed to be avoiding the subject. His hand brushed away the hair in my face, I could feel my cheeks heating up. "It's not that bad" He seemed to be talking more to himself. I felt something cold on my head followed by a stinging sensation. "That should do it". "Thank you" I whispered averting my gaze, I wasn't a shy person but I felt very timid around him. He gave me a warm smile "I really should get going now" his gaze was upon the clock. It was 3:11 in the morning. I again nodded not saying anything. I walked him to my front door and he said goodbye. Before my mysterious hero left he handed me some weird flower. "Eat this so you don't have a hangover tomorrow" was the last thing he had said. Soon after I made my way to my bed collapsing onto it not bothering to change letting the sandman work his magic. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~DREAM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheza's eyes fluttered open…she saw nothing but darkness. Fumbling around looking for the switch to her lamp she realized she was not on her bed, she was on a cold hard stony surface. She quickly glanced to her left noticing a faint light that seemed to be coming closer and closer. Her gaze promptly turned to the ceiling, she couldn't actually see the ceiling but assumed there was one. Something had whizzed by above her, she could hear a pair of wings flapping around. "I didn't think I would get lucky like this" came a chilling voice. Cheza froze, "whose there!" She heard the sound of wings again closer this time, soon after, a pair of footsteps. A arm wrapped around her waist, she could feel someone breathing down her neck. "A lot better than that ugly demon that came through here earlier". "What?" Cheza managed to say. "You haven't figured it out yet? You're in the pendant" Cheza gave a confused look before remembering the pendant she had taken off that monster, she had forgotten all about it. "If you die and the pendant is anywhere near you, it'll suck your soul in and trap you in this place forever." His voice was cold and eerie. "But I don't like anyone near my pendant.. so when a soul does get sucked in.. I kill it.." His mouth lit up as he grinned revealing a pair of fangs. Cheza took a step back, "but don't worry, I've been pretty lonely in here..so I won't kill you" Cheza didn't like where this was going..a guy trapped alone for who knows how long, rarely catching site of a female. She continued to back away when she tripped over something, falling to the ground the light she had seen earlier now partially lit up the room. She still couldn't see much but she could clearly make out the man in front of her..or rather vampire? "So vampires are real" Cheza exclaimed not taking her eyes off the mysterious bat man. "I'm not a vampire, I'm a bat demon" . She gave a disgusted look as she realized what she had tripped over, the monster from the wood's head.

"He tried to act all big and tough so I cut his head off " her eyes locked onto the bat's, his eyes were breath taking much like her own. They were a beautiful indigo color, filled with no emotion whatsoever. "How did you die?" she asked uneasily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kuronues Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`~~

I ran faster and faster, a adrenaline rush hitting me like a ton of stones. I had escaped with it! I was home free! No….I was wrong, I had been spotted. I wasn't quite as stealthy as my silver haired friend, but I could handle my own. "GET THEM!" I looked behind me catching site of three guards, weapons in hand. I had gone on many raids before and never had been seen, this was a first for me and sadly a last.

I looked down unclenching my fist revealing a ring, it wasn't just any ring , this beauty had immense power. Wearing this ring gave a demon incredible strength as well as the ability to see into the future. The ring was made of pure gold, the jewel inside was like none I had ever seen. Lightning would continuously streak inside the jewel, a swirl of black clouds could be seen as well but they would quickly disperse when you looked into it revealing something from the future, in my case what I saw was my death. My eyes widened as I stared into the jewel watching my own death, I had been killed by a bamboo trap…and had bled to death. Before I had a chance to change my fate I dropped my pendant, I came to a halt looking for it frantically, that's when I felt a searing pain in my leg. "Kuronue!" I looked up staring into a pair of golden orbs, 'Youko go! Save yourself!". I could tell my friend didn't want to leave me like this but he nodded as I handed him the ring ,he was out of my vision within seconds.

/\/\/\Cheza's pov/\/\/\/

I felt my whole body shake, I had seen the strange bat man..demon..whatever looking into a ring…I had felt his pain when he looked into his friend's eyes, knowing his fate was sealed right then and there. Had I just seen a memory of his? Did he have some weird power that allowed me to view parts of his memory? Everything went black, the little bit of light that had filled the room was gone…I could see nothing now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~End of dream~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheza's eyes opened, the sunlight from her window warming her face. "WOOF!" she stretched when she got to her feet and saw Alice holding her doggy bowl in her mouth. She smiled, "Okay okay I'll feed you" As she prepared Alice's meal she stiffened a bit remembering her strange dream. She felt around in her pocket until her fingers came upon it…the pendant. Had it really been just a dream?


	2. Chapter 2

~~~~~~~~~~~When Cheza was 6~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He had long silver hair and hypnotizing golden orbs that any woman couldn't help but gawk at and adorable fluffy ears that twitched at the slightest sound"

"He was stealthy and cunning"

"He was the king of thieves"

"Mommy, how come he has doggy ears?"

Cheza pointed to a picture of the infamous bandit with curious eyes, his story was famous in folklore.

"He was a demon"

"A doggy can be evil? But their so cute and innocent!" Cheza exclaimed.

Cheza's mother smiled "He was a fox demon"

"oohhhhh."

Cheza turned to the next page revealing a silver fox.

"Foxes gain another tail every 1,000 years" her mother read aloud

She couldn't take her mind off of all the strange events that had plagued her, when she had gotten dressed that's when it had hit her she had seen that fox in her dream somewhere before. Her mother used to read her a story about a famous thief named Youko, Kurama. After this realization had hit her she went through a few old boxes hidden away in her closet. Her mom wasn't alive anymore…or at least she didn't think so. Her mother had disappeared one day just like the fox demon. As for her father, she hated him..he was pure evil in her eyes…a demon himself. "I found it!" she exclaimed causing Alice to bark. Dusting off the book her eyes met with those golden orbs, those eyes couldn't be mistaken, it was definitely the same fox demon. Alice sneezed then flopped over rolling on her back as Cheza opened the first page of the book, remembering the words her mother had read to her over and over when she was a child. She remembered this story being one of her favorites. Cheza flipped to the second page catching site of the fox she remembered setting eyes on long ago.

"Foxes gain another tail every 1,000 years"

"They are loners but Youko had many comrades"

Cheza continued to read, "Kuronue.." she muttered reading one of the many names listed.

"Kuronue…Yomi…." The names didn't ring a bell but when she turned the next page a familiar face caught her attention. There he was the bat demon from her dream, around his neck the crimson pendant in all its glory.

"Kuronue was a late comrade of Youko but died shortly before Youko vanished"

Maybe it was just all in her subconscious…nothing more than a dream. But part of her couldn't help but think just maybe it wasn't. It was crazy to believe that she had an actual conversation with a bat demon that died like 3,000 years ago. She held the pendant in front of her following it with her eyes as it swung back and forth like a pendulum. She thought back to the night she was attacked by the "demon" remembering seeing a strange orb of light being sucked out of the demon and into the pendulum. Had that really been the demons spirit getting sucked into the pendant? Was this book more than just a faerie tale…did the legend of Youko Kurama really exist? Did demons really exist?

A loud thump from her kitchen brought her back to her senses, Alice got to her feet growling. Cheza tensed as she heard two voices conversing. She quickly pocketed the pendant then pulled out a pocket knife from her dresser drawer. Cheza silently crept closer and closer to the kitchen, Alice in front of her ready to pounce at any sign of movement. "YOU LITTLE BITCH WHERE IS IT!" "Yeah where is it!we know you have it " she quickly spun around staring at a stubby fat looking demon with horns that curved downward like a ram and what she guessed was a demon due to the glowing green eyes. He looked human besides the eyes…he was ridiculously tall and well built.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Yusukes apartment~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"HAHAH I WIN AGAIN!" Yusuke bragged as Kuwabara grumbled slamming the Super Nintendo controller down. "Don't be a sore loser! He taunted. "SHUT UP URAMESHI! DON'T MAKE ME POUND YOUR FACE IN!" Kuwbara retaliated. They continued a new game of street fighter, after a few minutes had passed Kuwabara paused the game "You sense that Urameshi?" Yusuke went silent for a moment, "I think we got ourselves a demon infestation". Kuwabara got to his feet, "What if that girl is in danger! Kurama said a demon attacked your neighbor last night!" Yusuke got to his feet cracking his knuckles, "Lets check it out".

/\/\/\/\

She was cornered now, the fat demon only inches away. Alice was of no help because of some type of invisible barrier the tall demon had put up. "I'll kill her, then we'll search this place until we find it" "What if it's not here?" came the other demons voice. "It is!"the fat one hissed. "Well well what do we got here? A horizontally challenged midget and a jolly green giant" "He doesn't look so jolly to me Urameshi" Kuwabara stated. The fat demon manifested a dark ball of spirit energy from his stubby little hand and flung it towards Yusuke who quickly dodged and pointed his finger towards the demon, . The ball of light didn't miss the front door though, a huge gaping hole now lurked in it. "SPIRIT GUN!"

~~~~~~~~Cheza's pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched Yusuke make a gun shape with hand, point his finger at the creepy fat demon then yell out "spirit gun". A blinding light emitted from his finger and next thing I knew the demon was in ashes. I looked over at the remaining demon that towered over me. I watched as a green glow flared up behind him, his face began to morph into the shape of an alligator. I watched in awe and fright as his teeth began to grow following a drastic change in his body, which now resembled an alligator standing up. He reminded me a lot of the alligator soldiers' in Donkey Kong Country..the Super Nintendo one. "See you later alligator" Kuwabara shouted, a yellow glowing sword that seemed to appear from nowhere cut through the demon and he fell to the ground lifeless. Now their eyes were upon me…I didn't know what to say so I stared dumbly at the two. Yusuke broke the silence, "Are you okay?" I nodded as he held out a hand to help me up. I took his hand, he must of noticed it was shaking for he told me not worry there weren't any more demons around. I had heard that word a lot lately (demon)

"You probably want an explanation…I mean this is the second time you've been attacked"

Second time….their red headed friend must have told them about the attack last night. "Kur… Shuichi told me to keep an eye on you" Yusuke said confirming my suspicions. Shuichi was his name.. it had just dawned on me that the red head had never told me his name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~30 mins later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yusuke had explained to Cheza that demons sometimes escaped from what he called the "makai" or demon world and wreaked havoc on humans, but he couldn't explain why she had been attacked twice now. He informed her that he was a spirit detective and explained there was a living world(ningenkai) and a demon world(the makai) and a spirit world where his boss resided. What Cheza thought was a cell phone had gone off in his pocket, what he took out was what looked like a makeup container, the circular ones with a mirror in the top part. He opened it up and an angry baby's face appeared, he was yelling at Yusuke soon after saying "it was dangerous for Cheza to know what she did"..that her memory needed to be erased. Well, needless to say they did end up erasing her memory…

/\/\/\/\

Cheza awoke to Alice's nonstop barking. She groaned holding her head, she felt dizzy and had a bad headache. She figured she must of gotten drunk and passed out. Tossing her sheets aside she got to her feet following Alice's barking. A confused look fell upon her features, "Why is there a big hole in my door?" she thought. She tried to remember the days events but she couldn't remember anything. She stared over at the clock, it was 4 in the morning. The last thing she could remember was walking out the door to go hang out with her friends. She took out her cell phone checking the date, "what the hell?" she whispered. That was two days ago….

She jumped , Alice had startled her. Alice had come running through the hole in her apartment door. "I guess you have a doggy door now" she said patting Alice on the head. Cheza's eyes followed Alice as she happily trotted over to the couch where her leash dangled off the side. "Ruff!" Alice sighed, "okay okay we'll go for a walk"

It was still dark outside, but not pitch black. Alice loved to explore the woods so that is where Cheza always walked her. She decided to let Alice off her leash while she rested under a large oak tree. Alice was all over the place, she seemed to be very hyper at the moment. "Woof!woof! WOOOOOOF!" Cheza looked over at Alice who was staring up at a tree continuously barking. She looked up seeing nothing, "probably a squirrel" she thought.

~~~~~~Hiei's POV~~~~~~~~

That baka ningens dog was getting on my nerves. I wanted to jump down and put an end to that mutts barking. I clinched my fist grinding my teeth together as I concealed myself from view. The human girl was staring right up at me, but I was hidden from her view. I was forced to keep an eye on this baka ningen, thanks to that kitsune.

Cheza was back inside her apartment rummaging through her belongings making sure nothing had been stolen. She figured someone had possibly broken into her apartment, drugged her, and made off with any valuables they found. "nothing…" she muttered to herself. Nothing was out of place….everything was perfectly fine, except the front door of course. "I hope I don't find a tiger in the bathroom" she said to herself. Waking up not remembering anything reminded her of the movie "the hangover". She walked back to her bedroom, where Alice laid at the foot of the bed sleeping. "I guess I'll go to sleep too" she plopped down on her bed, feeling something sharp poke her leg. "oww!" she reached under her sheets pulling out the crimson pendant she had found earlier. "Where did this come from?" she stared down at it, seeing her own reflection staring back at her. She had no idea how it got there, " I'll just go to sleep..wake up..and everything will come back to me" she said clutching the pendant tightly in her hand. Eventually she fell asleep, the pendant still in her grasp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dream~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello again" Cheza's eyes shot open, her body felt ice cold. She sat up realizing she was on a cold stoney surface. Cheza stared stupidly at the man in front of her, "you…who are you!" she said frightened by what she saw. The man looked at her confused, his wings disappearing behind his back. He continued to look at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "What are you! You..you have wings..and fangs..and.." The man sighed interrupting her, " Tell me…what did you do yesterday?" The question seemed to catch Cheza off guard, she was expecting the mysterious "bat man" to say something like "Im going to eat you!" or something to that affect. "Well…I…I don't really remember" she seemed lost in thought, forgetting where she was. "someone must have erased your memory..." Cheza snapped out of her thoughts, "but..why?" the bat man shrugged, "I don't really know". The two remained silent, " I think I can give you back your memory" the bat finally stated. Before Cheza could respond, his arms wrapped around her. "What are you do.." he pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips. Her head began to spin, she felt queasy as memories began to flood her mind. The bat man stepped back waiting for her to say something. "You..your…Kuronue aren't you?" His eyes widened a bit, "I never told you my name" her heart raced as she soaked in all the information from the past few days. He stared intently at her waiting for her to speak once again. "I know…I found this book..that fox guy is in it too" Cheza looked into Kuronue's eyes, he seemed to be in pain. "I need you to find him…he can get me out of here..I know he's alive" "But..how do you know?" "I just do!" Kuronue hissed. The two sat in silence again for awhile, "not to long ago a demon's soul got sucked into the pendant..he told me…he fought Kurama…but he was different..he..he was trapped inside a human body" Kuronue paused, " he told me he saw the human transform into Kurama" Kuronue began to pace back and forth, " I don't know why..or how..but this human..is some how Kurama." Again there was silence. "Did this demon described what he looked like..I mean I know what Kurama looks like..but his human form?" Kuronue nodded " he said he had long red hair..and green eyes…" Cheza thought for a moment before her eyes widened, "there was this guy I met..he matches the description..but his friend said his name is shuichi" "his friend lives next door to me...he's the one who erased my memory..he told me he worked for some place called spirit world" "No normal human would know anything about spirit world..he must know something" Kuronue stated. "Im going to give you some of my powers so you can defend yourself, demons will be coming for my pendant…they must not get their hands on it" Cheza nodded. Kuronue approached her, "Give me your hand" hesitantly she did as she was told. A strange surge of energy flooded her body, it felt like millions of needles were poking her.

/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza's eyes snapped open and she screamed. She dropped the pendant out of her hand and a ball of dark energy came shooting out of it through her wall.

Yusuke was standing by the stairs of the apartments talking to Kuwabara and Kurama, the stairs happened to be directly in front of Cheza's apartment. A loud boom was heard and a large purple ball of energy was seen coming through the wall of Cheza's apartment, whizzing inches by Yusuke's head.  
Yusuke's heart raced at the near collision of his head with the ball of energy "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!"

The ball of energy was not yet done. Hiei had fallen asleep in a tree nearby Cheza's apartment,the ball of energy just happened to hit that tree he was in sending Hiei flying. Hiei's fast reflexes saved him from falling on his ass though, he landing gracefully to the ground. With a bewildered look, Hiei glared up at Kurama who stared back at him with a dumb look.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurama could not sense any demons around, yet the spirit energy he had sensed was that of a demon. The spirit energy seemed so familiar to him, but he could not figure out whose it was. He snapped out of his thoughts as Yusuke and Kuwabara ran over to the large hole in the wall. Yusuke's gaze fell upon Cheza. "Are you alright!" Cheza didn't say anything , her heart was racing in her chest and she seemed to not be fully aware of where she was. Kurama ran over joining his comrades, Hiei appearing by his side. Alice cocked her head to the side her blue eyes locked onto Hiei, WOOF! She wagged her tail playfully and jumped out of the large hole in the wall running over to him. Hiei placed a hand on the hilt of his katana just as the dog stopped abruptly at his feet and flopped over exposing her belly. "I think she likes you half pint!"Kuwabara said. Hiei's eye twitched, "shut up oaf before I.."

"WOOOF WOOF WOOOOOF!" Alice interrupted.

Kurama had drowned the others out, a millions thoughts were racing through his head. He had figured it out…the spirit energy that seemed so familiar to him…Kuronue..he said in his head. He shook the thought from his mind, it was impossible and he knew it. Kurama stared into Cheza's eyes, he was taken aback when her eyes flickered that all to familiar indigo color. Hiei turned his attention to Kurama he knew something was up with him, his normal calm composure was gone. He appeared on edge, panicky, something wasn't right. Hiei glared over at Cheza, it had something to do with this human girl. "Hey red you alright! You look like you just saw a ghost!" Yusuke said, but Kurama was unresponsive. Their attention turned to Cheza as she stumbled out of bed, she didn't know what to say. A million questions ran through her head, should she play dumb? Pretend she had no memory still…should she tell them about Kuronue? Hiei had decided to probe the foxes mind, images of kuronue is what he saw. He had entered the foxes mind before, he knew of Kuronue. The two had never once spoken about him, but Hiei knew the two were once very close friends. He had seen what happened to Kuronue as well, he could see the pain in Kurama's eyes, he almost felt…pity for the fox. Hiei decided to probe Cheza's mind next, but there appeared to be some kind of barrier keeping him from entering her mind. He growled at the sudden surge of pain in his head, the barrier was powerful…to powerful for any human to poses.

"What the hell happened!" Yusuke asked Cheza. "umm…I…I was attacked by something…some weird looking creature…but…umm.. it was frightened away by my dog and it umm…disappeared through the wall" Hiei's eyes narrowed, he knew the girl was lying. Kurama knew this as well, but Yusuke and Kuwabara bought it. "What should we do? We already erased her memory once…" Yusuke whispered to Kurama. "I don't think it is wise to continuously erase her memory …we need to speak to Koenma.. " Cheza couldn't hear what the two were whispering about, but she knew it had to do with her. "Kuwabara, please take the girl to Yusuke's while we speak with Koenma" Kurama whispered. Kuwabara nodded, "sure thing!". Cheza watched as Yusuke and Kurama ran off, she hadn't even seen the mysterious crimson eyed man leave..but he was nowhere in sight. "Hey, why don't you come next door with me. That de…whatever it was might come back and you wont have anyone to protect you" Kuwabara said holding his hand out for Cheza to take.

30 minutes later

Cheza had dozed off on the couch watching Kuwabara play street fighter. Kuwabara had informed her Yusuke had broken the other controller because he was mad that he(Kuwabara) had won 9 times in a row. Before Cheza had left she had slipped the pendant in her pocket , Kuwabara hadn't noticed. Kuwabara paused the game to make sure Cheza was okay, she hadn't really said much to him. He stared at her noticing she had fallen asleep. "Woof!" Alice nuzzled Kuwabara's hand. He chuckled while patting her on the head.

\\/\/\/\/\\/Dream/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/

Once again she awoke on the all to familiar cold stoney surface. "Hey" she sat up to see Kuronue kneeling down beside her. He looked excited, "I'm going to teach you how to use some of your new powers!" "I learned one of them already…" she muttered. He raised his eyebrow, "what power was that?" "Well..when I woke up I shot some weird ball of light out of my hand" He nodded, "yeah..it comes in handy..lets practice it some" He stood up holding out his hand for her to take, she took it and he pulled her to her feet. "Its pretty simple really..just place your hand straight in front of you and….

10 minutes had past and Cheza had gotten the hang of it. "Ka me ha me ha!" she said and a ball of energy much smaller than the one that went through her wall earlier came whizzing by Kuronue. He gave her a strange look as if to say "what the hell does that mean". Cheza giggled, "its just that this reminds me of dragon ball Z". He had no idea what she was talking about. "Why does the ball keep getting smaller and smaller? She asked. "You only have so much spirit energy before you run dry" he responded. "Oh yeah, there's another move I want to teach you..I can't exactly show you while your asleep..but you can practice it when you awake" she nodded. "just hold the pendant in front of you and move it side to side in front of..whoevers face and you can hypnotize them" she smiled, "really? can I make them do whatever I want once their hypnotized? "no, they'll just fall asleep" he grinned, "you'll have fun with this though". After awhile the two had sat down and began to talk, Cheza had so many questions she wanted answers to.

"tell me…why…why did you go back for the pendant? Why's it so important to you?" to be honest, she was kind of scared to ask this question..it was a touchy subject after all. Kuronue's normal icey stare softened a bit, she could see so much pain in those eyes. "I…I understand if you don't want to talk about it…sorry" she whispered. Silence…" we….we made a pact..we would always have each others back no matter what happened.." Cheza assumed the "we" was Kurama and Kuronue. " the pendant…it was formed by the merging of part of my soul with Kurama's. Cheza watched Kuronue's every movement, he seemed very distant at the moment, lost in memories of the past. "we had gone on a raid and stolen a weird crystal ball, I didn't know what it did at the time..but it glowed so bright it lit up the night sky for miles" The next day we met with a friend that knew everything about everything, he told us that if the two of us merged part of our souls with the crystal a pendant would be created. If one of us were to die…we would be able to bring the other back..by breaking the pendant and releasing the soul trapped inside, of course there would be more to it than just that..but Kurama never brought me back…" Cheza was at a loss of words, so she remained silent. "Something happened to him..I know it…he would have brought me back if he could" Kuronue said clinching his fist. "That's why…I need you to find him for me…" "I…I promise I'll find him…I don't know how, but I will" she felt so much sympathy towards the bat, she was determined to help him.

Cheza awoke to the sounds of sirens. Kuwabara was watching a movie now, Alice in his lap. She sat up remembering what Kuronue had said about the pendant. She was eager to try this hypnotizing thing out. "Hey umm…I want to show you a magic trick" Kuwabara looked over at Cheza, "Huh?" "yeah..umm a magic trick!" "Okay!" he said while pushing Alice off of his lap. She pulled the pendant out of her pocket, "just keep your eyes on the pendant" He nodded and did what he was told. After about a minute nothing had happened, "am I doing it wrong?" she thought in her head. All of a sudden a loud thump was heard and she looked down to see Kuwabara had fallen face first onto the floor, snoring like a foghorn. Cheza grinned, "Yes, I will defiantly have fun with this!"


	4. Chapter 4

Blue ogres ran every which way, their hands full of papers. The toddler sat in silence at his desk, glaring daggers at them. He tapped his finger on his desk in annoyance, he was running out of patience. Yusuke was sprawled out on a red sofa to the left of the large room they were in, and Kurama sat with his arms crossed directly in front of Koenma's desk lost in thought. Hiei leaned against the wall near Yusuke, his eyes closed. "Here Lord Koenma sir, I found it!" the blue ogre said with a big grin. "ABOUT TIME!" Koenma yelled at the poor ogre. He snatched the manila folder out of the ogres hand and opened it up, the name Cheza was written on it. Yusuke yawned getting up from the sofa walking over to where Kurama stood, Hiei remained where he was. "well binki-breath, anything unusual?" Koenma's eye twitched in annoyance, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that Yusuke…take a look for yourself" Koenma tossed the folder over to Yusuke. Yusuke scanned the manila folders contents"nothing out of the ordinary, seems like a normal girl to me" Yusuke handed the folder over to Kurama who did the same, "nothing…" he muttered. "I don't think she is a demon Yusuke, but she must possess something.." Koenma stated. "Kurama, you said a demon attacked her in the woods a few days ago" Kurama nodded. "At around 3-3:30 ish in the morning?" again Kurama nodded. "hmm…I spoke with Boton, no souls came through here at that time in the past week…well not any demon souls at least" "I assure you Koenma, it was most defiantly a demon". "The only explanation I can come up with… ,he paused as an ogre approached him with a piece of paper. He examined the paper, "please sign here". He pulled out his stamp and stamped above the "sign here" line. The ogre grabbed the paper and bowed before running off. "As I was saying, the only explanation I can think of is that she came across some kind of demonic item…maybe one that traps souls? And now demons are trying to get a hold of it" "What kind of demonic item traps souls?" Yusuke asked. Koenma thought for a moment, "well…Im not exactly sure…" Yusuke crossed his arms, "some help you are carpet crawler" Koenma's face turned red, "Do you just sit there and think of new names to insult me with!" Yusuke grinned, "sometimes". " You two act like children" Hiei said glaring at Yusuke. "IM NOT A CHILD!" Koenma yelled flailing his arms.

Hiei couldn't help but smirk, he knew how easy it was to piss Koenma off..and he enjoyed it.

Kurama decided to intervene before a war broke out, "Hiei why don't you read her mind and then we will know if she possesses anything" Hiei crossed his arms leaning back against the wall, eyes closed, " Who do you think I am? Kuwabaka? I already tried..she has some kind of mind barrier up"

"well this is certainly a mystery" Kurama muttered. Everyone remained silent for a few minutes before Koenma spoke"Kurama, I think you should scan the area where the girl was first attacked..as for you Yusuke keep an eye on her,Hiei keep an eye out from a distance and warn the others if you sense any demonic energy" "hn" was Hiei's only response before walking out the pair of golden doors that lead out of Koenmas office. "Later rug rat!" Yusuke taunted before following Hiei out the door. Koenma's face once again turned red, "SHUT UP!" Kurama chuckled, "Good bye Koenma"

Cheza was now backed against a wall, her heart pounding in her chest. "I guess it was a bad idea to hypnotize Kuwabara" she said in her head. A disgusting looking demon that resembled a roach was inches from her, Alice barred her teeth ready to defend her master. "Here goes nothing…." She thought as the roach demon thing grinned sinisterly at her. "want…want to see a magic trick?" the demon gave her a confused look, "what?" "I said..do you want to see a magic trick" the demon cackled, "sure sure..then I shall eat you!" she was a bit relieved that the demon hadn't come to take away the pendant..it just decided to randomly barge in. "follow the pendant with your eyes" the demon nodded, "sure sure whatever" surprisingly the demon was stupid enough to follow her instructions. About a minute later a familiar thump was heard and the demon began to snore like a foghorn as well. Cheza's attention fell upon the door, hearing voices conversing behind it. She watched as the door opened revealing Kurama and Yusuke. The two exchanged glances after noticing Kuwabara and the roach demon sprawled out across the floor. "what the hell?" Yusuke said. Kurama looked up noticing Cheza looking as innocent as she possible could. "what?" was all she said. Neither one of them knew what to say, they both had the dumbest look on their faces.

A groan was heard as Kuwabara sat up looking around the room, "What happened?" "You..you were fighting that..thing over there and it sprayed some kind of powder at you…you knocked it out but then fell asleep afterwards" Cheza didn't think it was wise to reveal the pendant to Yusuke..or Shuichi for that matter. Kuwabara jumped to his feet, "yeah..that sounds about right..I did knock him out.." he sounded all cocky when he said that. She was a bit surprised he had no memory of her "magic trick". "yeah yeah whatever..get this thing out of here before Keiko gets off work.." "I'll take 'em to Koenmas" Kuwabara said dragging the roach demon out the door. Yusuke walked over to Cheza, "Hello there! I guess we never really introduced ourselves..well ,I'm sure Keiko told you my name and all before. Im Yusuke..and the red head over there is Kur..Shuichi! ..Im sure Kuwabara already introduced himself" Cheza nodded, "…Im Cheza" "You don't seem to weirded out about that de..that creepy bug thing" Cheza decided to reveal she had gotten her memory back, she knew they were getting pretty suspicious of her. "Well… you see…my memory came back to me…" she whispered. Yusuke and Kurama seemed a bit surprised, "that sure as hell explains some things" Yusuke retorted. "How exactly did you get your memory back" Kurama asked, not taking his gaze off of Cheza. "I….I just woke up..and everything came back to me…" Yusuke crossed his arms, "Binki-breath must not have erased her memory right" Cheza crossed her arms, "Im not letting you erase my memory again!". "rest assured, we will not erase your memory again..you can trust us" Kurama said with a smile. "Yeah, were the good guys!" Yusuke said with a grin…"I told you already how I was a spirit detective..I protect people from demons all the time!" "Speaking of which.." Kurama interjected. " you must have some idea as to why demons have been attacking you" Cheza tensed up a bit, "I..don't really know why". An awkward silence flooded the room, it didn't last long though. The front door opened to reveal Keiko, she looked over at Cheza..then Kurama..then Yusuke. She glared daggers at him, "Why aren't you dressed Yusuke! You promised you'd take me out for dinner tonight!" Yusuke ran and hid behind Cheza, " Help me! That mean scary lady over there wants to kill me!". "Yusuke! This isn't funny! You promised!" Yusuke sighed, "Jeese don't get your panties in a bundle, I'm still taking you out." "We should be on our way" Kurama said motioning for Cheza to follow him.

Cheza began to fidget, she knew Kurama was staring at her. The two were sitting on the railing of the apartment balcony, Alice laid at their feet. Every time the wind blew, she smelt the sweet scent of roses. "Why does he smell like roses?" she thought. She thought back to her conversation with Kuronue, How was she going to find Kurama? Cheza decided she could ask Shuichi a question about the infamous fox indirectly. "Who…was that guy with the red eyes?" "That was Hiei" Kurama responded. "Is…is he a demon?" she stared over at him waiting for him to reply, "Yes..he is..but he does not harm humans". "Are….are you a demon?" she asked. She figured he wasn't , he looked as human as can be…but she wanted to study his reaction. She watched his eyes widen a bit, but he quickly regained his composure and quickly replied. "No, I 'm not…why do you ask?" his curiosity was getting the better of him. "No reason..just wondering". Kurama stared into her piercing blue eyes," that night…in the woods..did you see anything strange?" Cheza quickly looked away, "seeing green blood was pretty strange…" she muttered. "Did..did you find something? Did that demon have some kind of ring…weapon…necklace…anything?" Cheza looked up staring into Kurama's emerald orbs, she needed to change the subject. She was getting nervous, he had to know she found something..it would only be a matter of time before he found out what that something was. "I'm…trying to find someone" Kurama gave her a questioning look. "A demon…well..he's in human form now…from what I've come to find out" "Do you know what kind of demon…the demons name?" Kurama asked casually. She wasn't sure if she should say..but she did. "Yoko Kurama" Once again Kurama's eyes widened, he didn't say anything. Cheza noticed his calm demeanor was gone, he was acting really strange. She was positive now, he knew where to find Yoko Kurama….


	5. Chapter 5

"Im..sorry, but I don't believe I can be of any service" Kurama finally replied. Before Cheza could respond Kurama spoke again, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you trying to find him..I believe he died ages ago" . "Suppose..he is alive…where do you think I could find him?" she asked avoiding his question. Kurama was very curious at this point, why was she trying to find him? How did she even know of his existence? "Its hard to say…tell me..why are you trying to find him?" Cheza knew she couldn't avoid the question, "A friend of his needs his help" her answer was very vague, Kurama hadn't a clue as to who she could possibly be talking about. "A friend?" he said raising his eyebrow. Cheza was trying to get him to talk, she figured eating away at his curiosity would get him to admit he knew more than he was letting on. "He told me Yoko Kurama is the only one that knows how to bring him back". Kurama rummaged through his memories, who could she possibly be talking about? How could he be able to bring someone back? Back to life?back..back from where! "Hey Cheza!" the two looked up to see Kuwabara running towards them with a big goofy grin. "My Yukina is having a sleepover tonight, she wanted to know if you wanted to join her and the girls!" Cheza blinked, "whos..Yukina?" "Only the sweetest, prettiest girl in the whole wide world! Shes MY girlfriend!" Out of nowhere the crimson eyed guy Cheza had come to know as Hiei appeard, "tell me how does it feel to live in a constant haze of stupidity" . A startled Kuwabara jumped, "I hate it when you do that!" Hiei glared at him, "baka"

"SHUTUP HIEI!Anywho..Boton..Yukina..and Keiko will be there! " Before Cheza could accept…or not accept Kuwabara pulled her forward, "Come on! My sweet is waiting!" Cheza could see Hiei clinch his fist..he looked pissed off…well..more pissed off than usual. "WOOF WOOF WOOF!" Alice got to her feet running after Kuwabara and Cheza who were now walking down the road. Hiei stared over at Kurama, "Do you have any idea what that baka ningen was talking about?" Kurama had sensed Hiei not to far away, he figured he had been listening in on their conversation. "I haven't the faintest idea…"

Alice began panting heavily, the three had been walking for at least 20 minutes up a pair of never ending stairs. Cheza looked up at the night sky, there was a full moon out. If demons were real, were werewolves?..ghosts?…all the magical creatures she had read about as a child? Her thoughts were interrupted ,"Genkai is away on business, but this is her place" Kuwabara said as the three finally made it to the top of the stairs.

(5 minutes later)

Kuwabara shut the door after Cheza and Alice had entered, "Yukina! My love!" Cheza heard the sound of footsteps, and her gaze fell upon a pair of familiar crimson orbs. Cheza figured Yukina must be Hiei's sister, which explained why he was pissed when Kuwabara introduced her as his girlfriend."Hello there, you must be Cheza! Nice to meet you!" the girl said smiling sweetly."This is Yukina!" Kuwbara said enthusiastically. Yukina bent over petting Alice, "hello there…aren't you adorable!" Alice wagged her tail excitedly, "Woof!" more footsteps were heard , Kieko and a blue haired woman appeard. "Hey Cheza!" Keiko said with a smile. Cheza watched the blue haired women gasp"I love your eyes their so pretty! ". "This is Boton" Keiko said. "Nice to meet you!" the bubbly blue haired women chirped. Cheza smiled"Nice to meet you to"

Kurama tossed and turned in his bed, he just couldn't sleep. He couldn't get his mind off of Cheza. He replayed their conversation over and over in his head, but he just couldn't figure out what "friend" she had been talking about. He sighed heavily his eyes closed shut, a million thoughts racing through his mind. About 20 minutes had passed, Kurama's mind had wandered off to the other day when he had swore he had sense Kuronue's spirit energy. Old memories flooded his mind, he thought back to that heart wrenching scene…Kuronue's death. Why did he have to go back for that stupid pendant!

His eyes snapped open, it finally hit him ,Kuronues pendant! He once again replayed his conversation with Cheza, "He told me Yoko Kurama is the only one that knows how to bring him back" she had found Kuronue's pendant! He remembered going back the next day to where he had last seen his fallen comrade, he searched everywhere for that pendant..but he hadn't found it anywhere. Kurama quickly got out of bed, grabbing a pair of pants and a shirt.

It was about 3 in the morning when Kurama finally made it to Genkai's temple. He knocked on the door, and awaited for someone to answer. A few seconds passed and the sound of footsteps approaching the door could be heard. A sleepy looking Kuwabara appeared, "Kurama? What are you doin here?" "I need to speak with Cheza!" he replied. "Your to late" Kurama spun around to see Hiei covered in blood,cuts and bruises seemingly occupying nearly ever square inch of his body. "Hiei!" Kurama ran over to him, but Hiei shoved him back. "Im fine fox, the ningen has been taken" Hiei spit blood out of his mouth, " An S class demon has escaped with her to the Makai"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~20 minutes earlier~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Cheza yawned as she walked outside, Alice had been wining at the door wanting out. Her eyes followed Alice as she pranced around sniffing at everything she saw. She turned at the sound of leaves crunching off in the distance, but saw nothing. She sighed and turned back around to see Alice's eyes fixated on something behind her. Before she could turn she felt someone push her to the ground, the sound of metal clanking together filled her ears. She quickly got to her feet to see Hiei. He looked at her for a second before turning his attention back to an extremely tall guy in all black. Cheza could tell this guy was no human, his features were human…except for his eyes. Those eyes struck fear in her heart, they looked so cold..lifeless. There was no white in his eyes..they were pure black. She watched as their swords clashed again, they were moving so fast she couldn't even keep track of where they were. Cheza waited in silence for what felt like hours..finally, her eyes caught site of Hiei. Blood was flowing down the side of his face, he was breathing heavily. Out of nowhere the strange demon man appeared slamming Hiei into a tree. A second later the demon was behind Cheza. " I believe you have something I want" the demon whispered in her ear. His voice sent chills down her spine. "Later Koorime" Hiei forced himself to get up, leaning on his sword for support. He growled in frustration, the demon was too strong for him. He himself was an A class, no doubt one of the strongest..but this demon…he was an S class..the most powerful of all. A portal appeared and the demon man grabbed onto Cheza's arm pulling her through. In an instant the portal was gone and the faint sound of crickets chirping was all that was heard. Alice's ears flattened and she began to wine. She ran over to Hiei who collapsed on the ground and nudged him. There was no response, a few minutes later she sat down beside him and waited for him to awake.

Yusuke awoke to someone continuously knocking at his door. He looked up at the clock, it was 4 in the morning. He groaned, forcing himself to get out of bed. He opened the door to see Kurama , "Yusuke! a demon has taken Cheza! Yusuke yawned, "let me go put some pants on and we'll go see if binki-breath knows how to find her" "Theres no time!" Kurama replied, grabbing Yusukes arm and yanking him through a portal. The two appeared in Koenma's office. Boton and Kuwabara were standing in front of the spirit rulers desk with worried expressions plastered on their faces. Koenma's serious expression vanished as his eyes fell upon Yusuke. He began to laugh hysterically, "Nice tidey whities Yusuke!" "SHUT UP Keiko picked these out! " Yusuke retorted. Yusuke had on a pair of pink boxers with hearts all over them. "We need to find Cheza now!" Kurama interjected. Koenma abruptly quit laughing, "Im.. working on it Kurama..all we can do now is wait" "Well work harder!" Kurama growled, his eyes flickering gold. Yusuke looked at him with a puzzled expression, "Jeese Kurama, you have a crush on this girl or something?" Kurama glared at him, "You don't want to get on my bad side Yusuke"

He was NOT going to let Kuronue down this time, he would do everything in his power to bring his old friend back!


	6. Chapter 6

Cheza examined her surroundings, she was in a castle…but she didn't know where. She crinkled her nose in digust, the air smelled foul…a mixure of rotting flesh and blood. "Take her to her cell" the eerie demon guy ordered. A lizard demon only a few inches taller than herself approached, "Yessir!" he bowed then yanked her by her arm, "Come on you filthy human! " She walked down a long corridor before being shoved down a flight of stairs. She whimpered as her head clashed with concrete, the lizard demon just cackled at her suffering. She stumbled to her feet only to be dragged to a cell and thrown in. "stupid human!" the lizard demon snarled before vanishing from her site. She sat up noticing a girl with long blonde hair huddled in the corner of the cell. Her face wasn't visable, it was covered by her hair. "Hi…" Cheza said uneasily. The girl didn't respond. Cheza stood up, a small window occupied the cell. She stared out to see the sky was blood red, "where am I?" she muttered to herself. "Your…in Lord Ryuu's castle" the girl said in almost a whisper. Cheza turned to see the timid girl staring at her, she was taken aback at what she saw. The girls face was now visable, it appeard to have been badly burned. The girl must of seen Cheza's reaction for she quickly covered her face with her hair. "Im..sorry..I.." "Its okay…Im Kaya" "Im..Cheza..how long have you been here?"

" since I was a little girl…Lord Ryuu slaughtered my family and took me when I was 5" Cheza felt uncomfortable to ask her next question, but she couldn't help but wonder. "Did…that Ryuu guy do that to your face?" Cheza could see Kaya tense up, she didn't respond. "Sorry..its none of my business"

~~~~~~flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was running for her life, the horrors she had just witnessed would scar her forever. A large black dragon had attacked her village, killing everyone. Her family hid in terror in a closet , she remembered her mother holding onto her with a death grip. Kaya's parents, her two 4 year old brothers, and herself sat in silence listening to screaming emanating from outside. She remembered her heart racing at the sound of footsteps walking into the room, stopping in front of the closet. She remembered closing her eyes and holding her breath. In an instant the closet was slid open and a sinister looking lizard demon stood with a smile. "well well look what we got here.. IN HERE YOU GUYS!" More footsteps were heard and 4 more lizard demons appeared. Her family was forced outside, hundreds of charred bodies could be seen everywhere. Kaya watched as tears rolled down her mothers cheeks. Kaya's eyes fell upon the sky, the dragon was heading straight for them! When the dragon landed the ground shook and time itself seemed to stand still. Kaya stared into its soulless eyes, she'd never forget those eyes. "Lord Ryuu we found these filthy humans hiding from us!" One by one her family members were slaughtered before her eyes, she was the last one standing. She decided to make a break for it, she didn't stand a chance if she didn't at least try to get away" She took off running, running as fast as her legs could go. She looked behind her, the dragon was nowhere in sight. She ran and ran, finally stopping under a large oak tree to catch her breath. Her heart sank when she heard the flapping of wings above her. She looked up to see the dragon hovering over her, its eyes narrowed. Fire shot from the dragons mouth, seconds later she felt searing pain all over her face. She screamed in agony..that was the last thing she could remember…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end of flashback~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheza stood leaning against the cell wall staring out the window. Every now and then a bird would fly by, they were defiantly now ordinary birds. Their eyes were red, they resembled pterodactyls. Cheza glanced over at Kaya, the two hadn't spoken a word to each other for over an hour. Cheza placed her hand in her pocket feeling the pendant, she figured she better hide it good. She wanted to keep it on her being, but where? She decided to hide it in a secret pocket located on the inside of her shorts. She then patted her shorts down to make sure the pendant could not be felt then sighed, how long was she going to be stuck here? As if on cue, the lizard demon appeared. "Lord Ryuu would like to speak with you now human" it hissed. The lizard demon opened the cell then yanked her out. The two walked in silence up flight after flight of stairs finally stopping in front of a pair of large wooden doors. The lizard demon opened the doors and shoved her in. Her eyes fell upon the demon she had come to find out was named "Ryu", he stood staring out a large window of the castle. He didn't even turn to look at her, " Give it to me and I may decide to spare your life". Cheza glared, "I don't know what your talking about" In a split second she was slammed into the ground. She heard a sickening crack followed by a searing pain in her ribs. " Do you still not know what Im talking about?" Cheza tried to sit up but the pain was unbearable, she didn't answer. "I said, do you still not know what I am talking about?" "Go to hell!" she wheezed. Ryuu grabbed her wrist yanking her to her feet. The pain was so intense she felt her whole body go numb. Once again she was slammed into the ground, this time her vision began to get blurry and everything went black.

~~~~~~Dream~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wake up damnit!"she felt so tired she couldn't even open her eyes. Cheza felt a hand being placed on her chest, then a powerful surge of energy flooding her every limb. Her eyes fluttered open staring into Kuronue's. He picked her up, " I must act before its to late". She seemed confused at first, but everything came back to her. "Am I dead!" Kuronue placed her over a strange symbol painted in blood, "No". "Im not sure I will be able to do this…but I have to do something" she examined the strange symbol she was standing on. She was standing inside a circle, an ancient looking symbol that appeared to be glowing in the center of it. "What are you doing?" "Im going to attempt to take over your body" Cheza gave him a puzzled look, "How is that possible!" Kuronue pulled out a small pocket knife cutting his palm with it, " I was taught how to do this when I was just a kid…I never tried to take over a girls body though..I'm not sure what will happen..let me see your hand" Hesitantly she surrendered her hand, "This will only hurt for a second" she winced as Kuronue cut her palm. The two now stood in silence inside the circle, " you will be able to see whats going on but you will have no control over your body" he took Cheza's hand in his and their blood began to run together. The strange glowing symbol grew brighter and brighter until it was blinding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end of dream~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryuu now stood back by the window looking out, his attention quickly turned to where he had left Cheza unconscious. A mysterious purple mist was beginning to engulf her body. "well well whats this?" Cheza's body could no longer be seen, Ryuu grinned. "What a turn of events? Is it really you?" he could sense a demons spirit energy now. "I take it your still pissed off at me" came an all to familiar voice. Ryuu knew exactly who was speaking, he hated him with every ounce of his being. " I seek revenge.. and now I shall have it". The purple mist began to fade revealing Kuronue, "Heh..you can try to kill me" ." You broke into my castle and stole my most prized possession! You will pay!" Ryuu lunged forward as Kuronue pulled out a scythe from his belt.

(meanwhile)

"Slow down Kurama" Yusuke said gasping for air. Kurama came to a hault, he sensed Kuronue's spirit energy once again..but this time it was different. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and himself had entered a portal Koenma created which lead to Ryuu's castle. Hiei had taken out the lizard demons that stood guard. The four were now following Ryuu's spirit energy which had spiked quite a bit.

Ryuu's fist whizzed by Kuronue's face, missing it by mere inches. Kuronue's scythe made contact with Ryuu's side though, leaving a deep gaping wound. "You insolent fool! You actually think you stand a chance against me!" Ryuu formed a ball of energy in his palm, it looked like a giant ball of fire. He flung it towards Kuronue, who barely dodged in time. Kuronue pulled out his other scythe, focusing some of his spirit energy into it. Ryuu once again lunged forward, this time Kuronue wasn't quite quick enough. Ryuu's fist made contact with Kuronue's face sending him crashing through the concrete wall. Ryuu laughed, "Had enough ?". Kuronue got to his feet a bit dazed, " You'll never win!"

Kuronue wiped blood from his lip while glaring at Ryuu, " we'll see about that". The two ran towards each other ready to clash. Kuronue's scythe cut into Ryuu's shoulder as Ryuu punched Kuronue in the stomach, the two skidded back in opposite directions. "No more playing games!" Kuronue watched as Ryuu began to transform. Ryuu laughed hysterically as his features began to morph into that of a dragon. Soon after, an ominous black dragon stood glaring at Kuronue. Kuronue could feel his spirit energy depleting, "damnit!". He stared at his arm, a purple mist was beginning to emit from it. His arm transformed back into Cheza's, he knew he was in trouble. The dragon appeared amused at this point, it watched as Kuronues entire body was engulfed in the purple mist. "KURONUE!" the dragon turned its attention to Kurama who had just entered the room, followed by Hiei, Kuwabara, and Yusuke. Kurama couldn't see Kuronue, but he could sense his spirit energy..it was very faint now. "SPIRIT GUN!" Yusuke yelled pointing his finger at the dragon. The dragon dodged with ease as Hiei unsheathed his sword. (Okay im going to stop here..I think I wrote to much this chapter xp)


	7. Chapter 7

I wanted to thank White Rose Fox for all the support, thank you! ^_^

In a blink of an eye, Hiei's sword penetrated Ryu's scaly armor. Kurama appeared oblivious to everything going on around him, his eyes were fixated on the purple mist that was beginning to disperse.

Cheza's limp form became visable catching the kitsune off guard. His attention quickly averted to the dragon as its tail swung at him, slamming him into the wall. Hiei pulled his sword loose as Kuwabara armed himself with his own. Kurama 's eyes flashed gold, he couldn't control himself anymore. A white haze began to consume his body, this hadn't gone unnoticed. The dragons eyes widened as he sensed another demons spirit energy, he knew exactly who it belonged to. The mysterious mist began to fade away, a dark figure could be seen. Kuwabara charged at the dragon only to be kicked into the wall by its powerful hind leg. The dragon not once took its eyes off the shadow that lurked in the fog.

Yoko finally became visable, "remember me?" . The dragon roared in fury, he hated the fox as well as his bat friend. "I don't think he's too happy to see you!" Yusuke remarked. The dragon took flight, propelling itself straight ahead towards Yoko. It emitted flames from its mouth, but these were no ordinary flames. These flames were an ominous dark purple. Yusuke and Kuwabara began to cough uncontrollably. Hiei pulled his shirt over his nose, he was fully aware that the smoke from the flames was toxic. Yoko pulled a seed from his hair tossing it in front of the creature as he dodged the flames. A strange looking vine began to grow and grow taking over nearly every square inch of the room they were in. Little white flowers began to sprout, soon after they opened and a strange looking yellow powder shot out of them. Hiei stared onward, what was the fox planning to do? These flowers had nothing special about them. The powder would put any human to sleep, but not a dragon! The dragon appeared distracted as it watched the flowers, expecting something to happen..but nothing did.

"I suppose your wondering what these flowers do?" The dragon's eyes narrowed as they locked onto Yoko's. "Well…nothing" Yusuke exchanged glances with Kuwabara , the two had puzzled expressions on their faces. Hiei showed no emotion, he knew the fox was up to something. The vine latched onto one of the dragon's legs. Flames once again erupted from the dragons mouth burning the vine off.

"they may not do anything..but they are a good distraction" Yoko said slyly. An ear piercing screech echoed throughout the castle, everyone covered their ears. A gigantic plant, that resembled a venus fly trap, crashed through the wall of the castle. It had thousands of razor sharp teeth and large thorns all over its stem. "Jeese! It's a venus fly trap on steroids!"Yusuke exclaimed. "Well well Ryu I don't see any flys around…"Yoko taunted. Ryuu was caught of guard, he hadn't even sensed the plant coming. He transformed back into his human form "Should I be scared of the big bad plant?" he mocked. "You really shouldn't insult my plants…they tend to take it personally". Before Ryuu could reply, the plant went on the offense. Hundreds of large thorns headed straight for Ryuu, he dodged with ease. He began to laugh, "you really think a stupid plant can hurt me!" The plant hissed and lunged for its prey. Ryuu formed a ball of energy in his hand, "Goodbye!". The ball flew right into the plants mouth causing it to explode, green goo splattered everywhere. "Yuck!" Yusuke tried to brush the goo off of his shoulder only to have it stick to his hand. Ryuu grinned, "Looks like I win". Yoko smirked, "You know, killing an offspring is a good way to get yourself killed..the mother is always close by..she wont stop until shes devoured you..limb…by limb". Another ear piercing screech was heard, even louder than the first. Another plant came crashing through the wall, this one was 5 times larger than the first. "Im guessing that other plant was the baby!" Yusuke said backing away. Ryuu took a step back as the plant barred its teeth. In an instant the plant had bitten into Ryuu's side, he shrieked in agony. "Once your bit..you become paralyzed" Yoko informed. Ryuu tried to move..he managed to move his fingers..but that was all. The plant released its victim only to strike again this time it consumed Ryuu's entire body. The sickening sounds of bones breaking could be heard. Yusuke looked totally freaked out. Hiei, on the other hand, appeared to enjoy every minute of it.

Cheza slugishly opened her eyes, everything was blurry to her. She had been in and out of consciousness for the last 10 minutes. She looked ahead of her , her eyes settled on a man with lengthy sterling hair. It hadn't occurred to her it was the infamous kitsune she had been searching for. She would close her eyes and see Kuronue laying next to her resting...when she opened them she would see the silver haired man. She knew she was unconscious when she saw Kuronue. Once again she opened her eyes, she realized someone was carrying her. She looked up to see a pair of golden orbs staring down at her, her heart began to race. Were her eyes playing tricks on her? Was she really staring at the infamous Yoko Kurama ? She smelled the sweet scent of roses, where had she smelt this before? Kurama…..

"go to sleep kitten" was the last words she heard. The fox had pulled a seed from his hair, creating a little white flower. A strange powder shot out of it,landing on Cheza. She felt a strange tingling feeling, then she could barely keep her eyes open.

```````````````4 days later``````````````````````````

Cheza had been sent to the spirit world intensive care. Kurama had stayed with her nearly the whole time, but of course he had to leave for school..and to check on his mother. Cheza happened to awake a few minutes after he had left for school. She had bonded with Kuronue quite a bit the past 4 days. She would have had no idea she had been unconscious for so long, but Kuronue kept track of the days. She had informed him she had seen Yoko Kurama…that she in fact knew exactly how to find him now. "Your awake!" A large purple ogre smiled down at her, his stethoscope swinging side to side. "I am doctor Reiki". Cheza slightly smiled, "hi". "How are you feeling today?" "okay..I guess". He nodded, " Most of your wounds are just about healed.." After a few hours the doctor permitted her to leave, Boton had arrived to take her back to human world. Once they arrived back at her apartment, she noticed the hole in her door, and the hole in her wall had been patched up. "Kurama and I fixed the holes…it took a lot of work!"Boton announced. "thankyou" . "Someone has missed you quite a bit you know!" Cheza blinked, "who?" "I'll be right back!" Boton exclaimed. Cheza watched as Boton knocked on Yusuke's door, soon after she dissapeard inside. "WOOF WOOF WOOF!" Alice came running full speed out of Yusuke's apartment knocking Cheza over. Boton walked out of Yusuke's apartment, " she moped around the entire time you were gone!". Alice's tail wagged excitedly as she greeted her master with tons of licks to the face. "Hey Cheza, feeling better?" Yusuke stood beside Boton now, "Yeah". "Well you two I should get going! Its about lunch time for Lord Koenma..he gets cranky when I bring him his lunch late!" Boton announced. "see ya" Yusuke and Cheza said in unison as Boton flew off on her oar."You wanna come with me and Kuwabara to the arcade?" "Umm..sure" Cheza said while petting the attention starved Alice.

The three walked down the sidewalk, the sun's rays beating down on them. Alice refused to leave her master's side again, so she tagged along. Kuwabara and Yusuke were playing "punch buggy " the whole way to the arcade. Cheza eyed Kurama walking with a pile of books in hand on the other side of the road. "HEY FOX BOY!" Yusuke yelled. Kurama quickly looked up to see Yusuke waving at him. He looked both ways before running across the street. He came to a halt next to Kuwabara, his emerald orbs fell upon Cheza, "Your awake". "yeah, Boton brought her over earlier" Yusuke replied. "Punch buggy!" Kuwabara exclaimed while punching Yusuke in the shoulder. "That wasn't a Beetle!" Yusuke protested. "Yes it was!" Kuwabara responded. Cheza turned her attention back to Kurama as the two continued to argue. Kurama hadn't taken his eyes off her the whole time, "Cheza..I need to speak with you…how about we meet up tonight?". Cheza nodded, "sure". "I'll come by around 7, if that's alright" Cheza nodded again, "yeah that's fine".

'''''''''''''''``````````````````````````````````````````'``'''''''''''''''

Cheza checked the time on her cellphone, "6:59". She was walking Alice along the borderline of the woods by her apartment. "Cheza!" she turned to see Kurama walking towards her. Alice barked, wagging her tail excitedly. "would you like to take a walk in the park?" "WOOF!" Alice responded. "Take that as a yes" Cheza said smiling.

The two walked in silence until they reached the park. Alice trotted around the playground as Cheza and Kurama sat down on the swings. "Your..him aren't you?" Cheza questioned even though she already knew the answer. Kurama nodded, "Yes". The two stared off at the sky, slightly swinging back and forth. "You found Kuronue's pendant didn't you?" Cheza was a bit caught off guard by his question, but she figured it really wasn't that hard to figure out. She fumbled around in her pocket, fingering the pendant she pulled it out. "Can you really bring him back?". Kurama nodded, "Yes..but I will need your help". "My..help?" Kurama nodded, "yes". Cheza hadn't the slightest idea as to how she could be of any help. She handed Kurama the pendant. Sorrow flooded his eyes, "Im sorry I couldn't bring you back sooner Kuronue..I wont fail you again" he whispered. "How..exactly are you going to bring him back?" Kurama handed the pendant back to Cheza, "I will need you to accompany me to the Makai". "De..demon world!" Cheza said a bit shakily. "Under normal circumstances I would never allow you to enter the makai..but I will need your assistance … I will protect you." Cheza felt uneasy about the idea..but she wanted to help Kuronue. "So…when do you want to go?"


	8. Chapter 8

Demon world was not what Cheza had expected. Kurama and herself were in a bamboo forest, the area they were walking in was like a ghost town. She expected to see demons everywhere, but no sign of life had been seen since they started their journey. A loud growl echoed throughout the forest causing Cheza to stiffen. "Raizen's stomach" Kurama stated nonchalantly . "What?" Kurama informed her the land they were treading on was ruled by a demon named "Raizen" and that he had fallen in love with a human woman, vowing never again to eat a human. Hense, the loud growling noise was Raizen's stomach begging for food. "so…does all of demon world look like this?". Kurama shook his head no, "Most of the other lands are much more baron.. ". "so…where exactly are we going?". "First to my old hideout..then we will need to head to the black market". The two walked in silence for at least an hour, the forest seemed never ending. Eventually Kurama came to a halt, he brushed aside tangles of vines blocking entrance to a cave . "Is this your old hideout?" Cheza questioned. "Yes" Kurama answered while pulling a seed from his hair. A bright yellow flower began to bloom soon enough it blossomed and illuminated the entrance of the cave. Hesitantly Cheza followed Kurama inside. "So..why exactly did you want to come here?" Kurama walked deeper and deeper into the cave , torches lined each side of the wall. He stopped abruptly at a wall to his left, tugging on one of the torches. The wall slowly slid open revealing a hidden room. "there is a certain item I hid here long ago..we will need it to bring Kuronue back." Kurama entered the newly lit room followed by Cheza. Cheza gasped, there were heaps of treasure. Rubies, gold, pearls, diamonds..all sorts of valuables! " Kuronue and I went on many raids in the past…we stole just about anything we could get our hands on." "Why didn't you ever come back for any of this! You could be rich!" Cheza exclaimed. Kurama's eyes permeated with sadness, "I never wanted to come back here after what happened to Kuronue..to many memories I guess." Cheza gave Kurama a sympathetic look, "I see your point." Kurama sighed fumbling through the piles of jewels and such. Eventually he found what he was looking for, a handheld two way mirror . "A mirror?" "This is no ordinary mirror… this will keep the soul collector at bay… once I break the pendant Kuronue's soul will be loose and the soul keeper will come" Cheza stared at the mirror…it looked like an ordinary mirror to her. "I was informed that the soul keeper cannot stand to see its own reflection..Im not quite sure the reason behind this..it would be foolish to engage in battle with the soul keeper..its a battle no demon could win..anything it touches dies." "Why didn't we just get a mirror at the store then?" "One side is to keep the soul keeper at bay..the other side is to communicate with Kuronue." Kurama walked across the room picking up a black cloak, " You will need to wear this once we enter the black market..you will be killed instantly if anyone discovers you're human". Kurama grabbed a handful of golden coins, "some of the items required are quite expensive..but this should cover it".

The two had walked for about 3 hours, the scenery had changed drastically. No more trees or anything green, everything resembled a desert. "water!" Cheza cheered running over to a large lake, it seemed quite out of place considering everything around her was just sand. "don't get to close" Cheza stared into the water, "why not?". "it's a trick…a mirage..it belongs to a worm demon". "A worm demon..whats a little worm going to do!" "Eat you alive" Cheza's eyes widened, "let me guess..their like gigantic evil worms right!" "it is hard to survive out here..the worm demons set up illusions like this to catch prey...if you were to fall in you would be stuck at the bottom of a giant hole awaiting your fate as dinner". "eep!" Cheza backed away from the water. "I sense the barrier..were close." "barrier?" "The black market is kept on the down low.. many illegal transactions take place there" Cheza put the cloak on, her face could no longer be seen after she placed the hood over her head. "Don't look anyone in the eyes and keep quiet for your own safety" .Cheza watched as Kurama transformed into his demon form. Yoko appeared with a sly grin, "hello again kitten". In a blink of an eye he had vanished from her site. "Hey! Where'd you go!" She felt someone breathing down her neck, "behind you". She felt his arm wrap around her waist, "this is really..awkward? lets umm..lets just get going!" Yoko's arm fell to his side, "whatever you wish kitten".

Chills went down Cheza's spine as she walked through the barrier. Her eyes fell upon a completely different world. Demons were every which way she looked! She couldn't even hear herself think with the millions of voices chattering away. "1000 going once going twice sold!" she looked to see a little demon girl being pushed forward to a gross hog looking demon man. He had a perverted smile on his face, the site sickened Cheza . "the slave industry is booming here" Yoko informed. She glanced back at the scared little demon girl before following Yoko who was making his way to a bar.

Once inside she sat down next to Yoko at a bar stool. The bar tender, a fat dog demon walked over, "what'll it..Yoko! my old friend! Its been too long! I heard rumors a bounty hunter killed you!" Yoko shrugged, "cat". Cheza later found out "cat" was codeword for "I need you to sell me something illegal". "Oh I see, come with me" Cheza followed Yoko and the dog demon behind the counter and down to a basement. "What is it you want?" Cheza scanned the room, there were jars upon jars of gross things on the wooden shelves. Labels that read "Human eyeballs" and "worm guts" just to name a few. "koumori wings and oni blood" Yoko replied. "Coming right up!" The dog demon walked across the room, "ahh here were are!" he came back with two glass jars in his hand, one jar had a digusting looking black goo inside, the other looked just as disgusting.

After Yoko said his farewell the two walked out of the bar. "Theres still a few more items we will need". "AND STAY OUT!" Cheza looked over to see a lizard demon land face first into the sand in front of another bar, an angry looking bar tender was glaring daggers at him. Her attention averted to two cat demons arguing over a weird looking fish. This place is defiantly intersting...Cheza thought. Yoko lead Cheza into another building, it smelled of incense. An elder women with a crystal ball sat in a maroon colored chair in the middle of the dimly lit room. At least 30 candles were scattered around the room, all of them alit. She had features that resembled a bird, and yellow and green feathers atop her head. "ahhh you come for a phoenix feather, yes?" Yoko nodded at the bird demon. Cheza watched as she got up from her chair walking over to a large red bird she hadn't noticed before. She was in awe at its beauty, she stared into its eyes..she could literally see flames in them. The bird demon plucked one of the Phoenixes' feathers, causing the bird to hiss and take flight to the other side of the room.

"was she a physic demon? I mean..its pretty obvious shes a bird demon..but is she also physic?" Yoko nodded, "theres one last item we must retrieve..this is the most difficult one to find". The two walked around for quite some time before stopping in front of what looked like an abandoned shop. The windows were dark and covered in dirt, part of the roof appeared to be caved in as well.

Yoko motioned for Cheza to follow him to an alley way that lead behind the store. He knocked 3 times, Cheza figured no one would answer. The door creaked open and an old women peeped out, "what do you want!" she said in a raspy voice. "You have something I need" "Sorry hun cant help you" Yoko fumbled around his pocket pulling out a coin pouch gesturing he was willing to pay extra. "come in, come in!" the women said opening the door wide enough for Cheza and Yoko to enter. The floor boards creaked as the three walked to the kitchen. Corpses of shriveled up spiders could be seen in cobwebs located in every corner of the run down shop. "What is it you want?" the old women said taking a loaf of bread out of the oven. " I need a spirit turkey". Cheza gave him a weird look, what the hell is a spirit turkey she thought. "it'll take me a few hours to cook..take a seat". The old women opened up a door leading to a basement, "I'll be right back, don't touch anything!" . Cheza waited until she was sure the women was out of hearing range. "what the hell is a spirit turkey!" Yoko gave her an amused look, " you ask a lot of questions kitten" "Well sorry if I haven't heard of a spirit turkey before!". " A spirit turkey is used for a spirit to take refuge in until a body can be materialized". Yoko leaned back in his chair, " We have the ingredients to create Kuronue's body..but it'll take about 20 minutes for it to actually materialize until then he will have to take refuge inside the spirit turkey". " How are you going to materialize his body from koumori wings and oni blood..and a phoenix feather!" Yoko shrugged, "I thought it was pretty strange myself when I was told how to materialize his body…I get koumori wings..I guess..but oni blood is a bit odd. Kuronue was told Fox tails, phoenix feather, and cat whiskers were required to materialize my body..if he ever needed to bring me back." "hmm I figured he'd need snakes and snails and puppy dog tails" Cheza wise-cracked. "I don't seem to have any frozen turkeys left in the basement..I'll need you to go catch one for me" the old woman said while shutting the door of the basement. Yoko sighed, "this'll be a pain in the ass" he muttered. "you know where to find one right?" Yoko nodded standing up, "yes..we'll be right back".

Cheza was laughing uncontrollably at the scene before her. Yoko had tripped and landed face first into a puddle of mud while chasing after a mischievous turkey. They looked like ordinary turkeys, except their eyes were bright red and they were very vicious. Two of the many turkeys charged at Yoko for chasing their buddy. Yoko quickly got to his feet and started to run, the tables had turned. Four turkeys were now chasing Yoko around. What am I doing! Im running from stupid turkeys! Yoko thought. He came to a halt and spun around, an evil grin appeared on his face. The four turkeys that were chasing Yoko stopped, their eyes widened. Feathers began to fly every which way as they frantically took off in different directions. Eventually Yoko finally caught one of them. Cheza laughed as Yoko walked over to her. "Whats so funny!" He was a site to behold, his normally white attire was now dripping with mud and his ears were flattened upon his head. "You need a bath!" Cheza replied between giggles.

"knock knock knock" Once again the old women peeped out, she looked at Cheza..then Yoko..then the dead turkey in Yoko's hand. "Oh so you caught one!". Yoko nodded handing over the lifeless turkey. "now I'll work my magic..you two come back in exactly 2 hours!" the old women said shutting the door before they could reply. "so what are we supposed to do for 2 hours?" Cheza asked.

Yoko chugged down his 12th beer. Cheza sat at the bar stool still on her first. "should you really be drunk when we bring Kuronue back!" Yoko's golden orbs were glazed over, a tinge of red in them. "We have to wait until tomorrow night to bring him back..when it's a full moon." "Where are we supposed to sleep!" "We'll figure it out" Yoko replied. He stood up swaying back and forth before falling face first onto the wooden floor. The bar tender chuckled, " just like old times!". Cheza sighed as she poked Yoko in his side, but got no response.

Two hours had passed and Yoko hadn't moved from his position, everyone simply stepped over him like he wasn't there. I guess I could go get the spirit turkey myself… she thought in her head. She glanced at Yoko one last time before exiting the bar. She lowered her head not making eye contact with anyone as she made her way to the run down shop. Cheza reached the alley way leading behind the shop, she glanced over her shoulder as she heard a menacing voice, " My lucky day a human!". She quickly spun around, but there was no one there. "Behind you". Her eyes widened as she slowly turned around meeting eyes with a stubby looking toad demon. It had beady black eyes and slimy-green skin and was wearing a navy blue kimono. Cheza began to back away as the toad demon walked towards her. "Many humans have the misconception that we only eat flys..as you will see that isn't true" The toad demon's long tongue shot out licking Cheza's face. "eww!" she said slapping the tongue away. The toad demon simply placed its hands on its hips, "that wasn't very nice! I like to sample my victims before I gorge". Cheza decided to make a run for it, but to her dismay the toad demon was actually quite fast. It appeared in front of her, licking its lips. "Im done playing games, I haven't eaten all day!" The toad lunged at her, she shut her eyes tight awaiting for the inevitable. Nothing happened….

Her eyes slowly opened, to see the toad demons kimono flutter to the ground into a puddle of green goo. She jumped as she heard a voice say "boo" into her ear. She turned to see Yoko standing there with a smirk on his face. "Hello kitten, miss me?" She let out a sigh of relief as Yoko took her hand in his, "come on were late!"

Cheza poked the strange glowing turkey laying on the windowsill. It looked like a cooked thanksgiving turkey, aside from the purple glow around it. Yoko had paid for an Inn to spend the night in. He was already fast asleep, but Cheza remained awake staring out the two story window. She was eager to speak with Kuronue that night, so she finally decided to hit the hay. She flopped down on her bed eventually succumbing to fatigue.


	9. Chapter 9

~~~dream~~~~

Cheza awoke not on a cold stony surface, but rather on a hard grassy expanse. She sat up soaking in her surroundings. The sky was a lit in swirls of green and blue, resembling an aurora borealis. The sound of a flute flooded her ears, she looked to see a moon like creature playing its soothing melody. Her attention averted to the sky as something whizzed by like a bat out of hell. She scrambled to her feet awaiting for whatever she had seen to make its appearance. Sure enough, It did. "Cheza! Over here!" Kuronue whispered pulling her into the shadows. The two now stood behind an ancient colossal tree that was at least 10ft in width.

"Where are we! Are we still in the pendant! Whats going on! Cheza asked bombarding Kuronue will a million questions at once. "it's a warning…" he said staring over at the strange moon-like creature. "a warning? What is that thing?" Kuronue's wings came to his side, "the soul collector has been after me for quite some time..it cannot rest until it has my soul."

"That's the soul collector?"Cheza asked, "it looks harmless to me". "Anything but, but that is not the soul collector..it is its kin the soul piper(from Inuyasha)." Cheza's eyes followed the strange creature as it continued to play its serene melody. "

"why hasn't it attacked you?" Kuronue crossed his arms, " it only collects children souls"

"then why is it here?" Kuronue leaned his back against the tree, "the soul collector cannot get to me..my pendant is similar to an impenetrable barrier..the soul piper can enter dreams however..so it has come here to warn me that the soul collector will not let my soul slip through its fingers again."

"I know im asking like a million questions…but..umm…how could it possibly know that were planning to bring you back!" Kuronue shrugged, "who knows". "One last question…where exactly are we!"

"It is impossible for me to leave the pendant…so we must still be inside it"

After awhile the soul piper's flute became more and more faint, it had left to take the poor souls it had collected to their resting spot. Kuronue and Cheza were left to their thoughts. "I don't think you should worry about this "soul collector" Kurama has a mirror to ward it off." Kuronue laid in the grass outstretching his wings, "I'm worried about him..about you, if either one of you get touched by it you'll instantly die"

"Just..dont worry about it" Cheza laid down next to Kuronue staring up at the sky, "the sky looks really pretty tonight!"Kuronue didn't respond, the two just laid in silence until Cheza was roused from her sleep.

Cheza awoke to find Yoko staring down at her. "we have to get moving kitten, we have a long day ahead of us" Cheza groaned pulling the ivory sheets over her head. Yoko sighed, "our rides are waiting". "what are you talking about?" Cheza asked between yawns while throwing the sheets aside. "we will not be able to bring Kuronue back in time if we go on foot..we must be at the sprite forest by nightfall" "Sprite forest?" Yoko's golden orbs followed Cheza as she got out of bed and walked into the bathroom

" the forest is full of sprites, faeries, nymphs, elves, and such..I will need the assistance of a particular sprite"

"what exactly is a sprite?" "They are very ancient and filled with spiritual wisdom." Cheza sighed staring into the mirror, her piercing blue eyes staring back at her. More and more bombshells..she had thought she would be back home by now.. that she wouldn't have to travel miles upon miles!

"WHAT ARE THOSE! You cant expect me to ride one of tho…" Yoko picked Cheza up placing her on what looked like a camel, "its just a camel demon..it will not harm you". The camel turned its head staring stupidly at Cheza, it didn't look evil. Its eyes were a strange maroon like color, but it did appear harmless. "we are going to be entering dangerous territory so ride close beside me" Yoko warned while getting onto his own camel demon.

An hour had passed, the scenery had not altered. Any direction they looked all that could be seen was sand. Yoko signaled the camels to come to a halt, "be very quiet." Cheza nodded scanning the area around her, she noticed what looked like antlion pits in the sand. Yoko tossed a gold coin into one, it instantly disappeared beneath the surface, the sand there was like quicksand. A strange screech like noise echoed through their ears, Cheza looked over at Yoko as he pulled a seed from his hair. "whats going on..what was that? Don't tell me theres demon antlions!" The inhabitants of the peculiar holes made their presence known. An enormous pair of sicklelike jaws emerged first from the hole Yoko had tossed the coin in, 3 other pairs soon emerged from the other holes. The creatures were soon visable, "Of course..what a stupid question to ask." Cheza exclaimed. Four antlion demons stood lined up in front of her and Yoko. "they are nothing by nuisances!" Yoko growled. The four antlions went on the offense only to be obliterated into a million tiny pieces. "lets get going" Yoko said acting as if nothing had happened. The camels exchanged glances before taking off once again through the baron landscape.

6 gigantic vultures flew off in separate directions as the camels paraded pass them. They had been picking away at a dead carcass, possibly a lizard demon. "we will have to walk on foot once we reach the cave." Yoko stated. Cheza had noticed a cave off in the distance, so she figured that must be where he was talking about.

Cheza now stood at the mouth of the cave alongside Yoko, the camel demons knew their way around and were making their way back to civilization. The two entered tentatively, the cave was pitch black inside. Yoko held onto Chezas wrist guiding her through the darkness. "why don't you make one of those flower thingys to light the cave up." "You don't want to see whats in here kitten" Cheza had a puzzled look on her face, but Yoko couldn't see it. She wondered what he meant by that, maybe it was best to trust his judgment. They walked in silence for awhile, Cheza felt like something had been following them the whole time, "Is..there someone following us?" . "It wont attack us" Cheza stiffened a bit, what wouldn't attack them? She decided she rather not know. Cheza caught a glimpse of something glowing a faint pink off in the distance, "whats that glowy thingy?" "Our way out" Yoko responded. As they walked closer and closer she realized it was a giant mushroom, about the size of her head. "Many demons come through here but few ever make it out alive..they search for a way out for years…but are unaware the only way out is through this mushroom". Cheza was quite confused, but before she could ask what he meant Yoko had placed his hand on the strange mushroom. A strong wind began to pick up , the light from the mushroom grew brighter and brighter, in a blink of an eye the light vanished and the room of the cave went back to normal.

Cheza looked around, everything appeared to be exactly the same. "Yoko! Its been quite some time! You want out of the cave right? Which direction you heading?" Cheza looked around but saw no one. She noticed Yoko was staring down at the mushroom, so she did the same. An ancient looking knome with a red hat on its head stood on it, a staff in hand. "sprite forest". "Sure thing! Close your eyes!" she watched as the knome hit the top of the mushroom with the staff 3 times, "make sure your eyes are closed!" Hesitantly she closed her eyes, in an instant she felt like she was falling. Her whole body went numb, soon enough it subsided and she felt a strange tingling all over.

"open your eyes kitten" Her heart was racing in her chest, her eyes snapped open to find herself standing at the entrance of a forest. A faerie in a red dress whizzed past her, she tried to follow it with her eyes but it was to fast. The sky was no longer red, but rather a pale green color. The trees were of purples, pinks, and greens. Toadstools were scattered all around, little knomes peeping out of them. "This is sprite forest?" Cheza asked in awe. Yoko nodded, "come on we have to find Nyx."

She nodded following Yoko into the forest, she could here whispers all around her. As they passed a pond, she saw a beautiful looking faerie sitting on a lillypad. Her wings were shining brightly, she wore no clothing, but her long curly red hair covered her breasts. She looked like what Cheza though an angel should look like. Soon after, she passed but another faerie. He had short fiery red hair and chiseled abs, a loin cloth was the only clothing he had on. This one actually spoke to them, "what business do you have here?" he demanded. "how is that any of YOUR business" Yoko retorted. The faerie knew better than to pick a fight with Yoko, "word is your looking for Nyx?" "Word must travel fast through here" Yoko replied. The faerie nodded, "I can take you to him" Yoko remained silent for a moment, Cheza figured he was contemplating rather or not he should trust the little guy. " take me then" he finally responded. In an instant the faerie was out of site, "come on this way!" Cheza got onto Yoko's back and they took off full speed after the faerie.

Eventually they reached their destination, Yoko and Cheza now stood in front of a large yellow flower, in the center sat a male sprite, a golden crown atop its head. "Nyx these two are here to see you." The sprite known as Nyx looked up at the two, a green mist began to engulf its body. Soon enough it faded and there stood Nyx, human sized. Cheza couldn't help but blush, the sprite man was extremely handsome. He stood at the same height as Yoko, he had gorgeous blue eyes and a body any man would die for. His short messy brown hair appeared to be glowing along with his wings, " Why is it you have come all this way to speak to me?"

"I hear you're the one to come to when it comes to bringing the dead back to life"

"Who is it you wish to bring back?" Nyx questioned. "an old friend"

"you have acquired all the materials needed to materialize this friend's body?". Yoko nodded. "The inhabitants of this forest fear the one known as the soul collector, I assume you are aware the creature will come for your friends soul?" Again Yoko nodded, " I have found a way to keep the soul collector at bay". "I don't believe my assistance is required, you will however need to know where the temple of the faerie gods is located, that is where your friend must be resurrected." Nyx stared up at the rapidly darkening sky, "night fall is near…you must be on your way..Kalen will show you to the temple." The faerie that had lead them to Nyx nodded, "Come on guys!"

Cheza looked up at the full moon in awe, it was a bright orange color. The two were standing in the garden temple, Yoko had already began the process of materializing Kuronue's body. He had emptied the jars they had gotten at the bar into what looked like a cauldron. Cheza walked back over to Yoko peeping into the cauldron, a black goo was bubbling inside. Yoko tossed the Phenoix feather into it, as soon as it touched the goo it changed to a red color. Cheza thought it looked just like blood. Yoko propped the spirit turkey up against the stone wall of the temple and picked up the two way mirror, "the pendant". Cheza pulled the pendant from her pocket, "on the count of three…" Yoko said staring at Cheza. "1…2…..3!" Cheza took a deep breath before throwing the pendant with all her might into the stone wall of the temple. The sound of glass shattering echoed around them, soon after a white orb emerged. Yoko looked around, "keep an eye out for the soul collector". Cheza nodded as Yoko stared into the mirror. "Kuronue…" he muttered. Kuronue's familiar indigo orbs stared at Yoko through the mirror, "Kuronue I need you to enter the spirit turkey" The orb of light went around in a circle before heading straight for the turkey. "KURAMA!" Yoko quickly looked up to see the soul collector hovering about a foot away from Cheza. "Damn it!" he looked back at the orb just in time to see it enter the turkey. An ear piercing screech caused Cheza to fall to her knees, she quickly covered her ears. Yoko winced in pain, his ears are of course a lot more sensitive. Cheza uncovered her ears as the screeching stopped, the soul collector was now heading straight for them. Yoko quickly moved in front of Cheza, holding the mirror up in front of him. The creepy creature stopped abruptly and made a strange hissing noise. "16 more minutes and Kuronue's body will be materialized, until then we will have to keep the soul collector away". They both knew this was easier said than done…


	10. Chapter 10

"where the hell is Kurama! He's been gone for like two days!" Yusuke exclaimed. Koenma leaned back in his chair, " He has taken Cheza to demon world..I am not quite sure what he is up too, but I don't have time to worry about it! You three have a mission!" Hiei stood in silence leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and arms crossed, he was a bit worried about his kitsune friend. "the three of you are going to demon world. There is a fugitive on the loose..he has killed over 41 humans tonight ..my best men were killed trying to capture him! about 30 minutes ago he escaped back to the makai. I want him alive! Now go! And if you have a chance, try to locate Kurama. I trust he will protect Cheza, but I am a bit concerned" Boton appeared and opened up a portal at Koenma's request. "I have a test tomorrow! I should be getting my beauty sleep!" Kuwabara wined. "Hn! It'll take much more than sleep to make you.." "No fighting you guys! Now get going!" Boton interrupted shoving Kuwabara and Yusuke towards the portal. "Later carpet crawler!" Yusuke said before entering the portal. "Wait up Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled following his gel-haired friend through the portal, Hiei soon after.

"This place reeks!" Yusuked exclaimed. Kuwabara nodded in agreement, "so where exactly are we supposed to start looking?" The two looked around their surroundings, they were in front of the cave Yoko and Cheza had entered not to long ago. Hiei walked into the mouth of the cave, he could smell Cheza and Kurama's scent..it was very faint but there nonetheless. "Hey! Where are you going!" Yusuke yelled as Hiei walked farther inside. Hiei didn't respond, and soon vanished into the shadows. "Figures the shrimp would take off and leave us to do all the work!" Kuwabara remarked. "why the hell couldn't we wait until morning anyway! I can barely see anything right now!" Yusuke said crossing his arms. "That cave is creepy! theres no way Im going in there Urameshi!" " I agree with ya, if that demon is in there Hiei will bring him to Koenma..lets head west..come on"

Cheza was frozen in terror, the soul collector had revealed its face to them and it was not a pretty site. It wore a black cloak, the hood had kept its face hidden. " A defense mechanism..it rarely reveals its face..I have heard if it does..any lesser demon or human instantly becomes paralyzed from fear" Yoko informed. Cheza couldn't take her eyes off the creature. It had long razor sharp teeth, they were yellow and roaches and other insects could be seen crawling around on them. Its eyes were crimson red, no white could be seen in them. Ram like horns were attached to its head, and its head was nothing but a mere skull. Yoko kept the mirror up and turned Cheza's head towards him with his free hand, "snap out of it!" The sound of glass shattering could be heard throughout the forest, Cheza snapped out of her trance like state to see the mirror in Yoko's hand had busted into a million little shards. Her eyes widened in terror. The soul collector had somehow shattered the mirror, leaving them defenseless. "it..broke the mirror! what are we going to do!" "Run" Yoko whispered. Cheza began to shake, she tried to run but her legs wouldn't budge. The creature was smiling sinisterly at them and was slowing hovering over towards the two. "RUN!" Yoko yelled while running off in a silver blur. He had figured Cheza would take off running with him, but she hadn't. She hadn't moved an inch, she was to scared to move. By the time he realized Cheza was still paralyzed from fear the soul collector was close enough to reach out and touch her. Once again the creature hissed, Cheza closed her eyes tightly..she could hear her heart pounding at that point.

"baka! Why are you just standing there!" She opened her eyes after hearing an all too familiar voice. She had been pushed to the ground just as the soul collector was fixing to touch her. She looked up to see Hiei glaring down at her. Yoko quickly sprinted to Hiei's side, "what are you doing here!"

Hiei's crimson orbs averted to the soul collector as it lunged at him, he quickly held up a golden mirror. The creature hissed once again and began backing away "How much time do you need?" Hiei asked glancing over at Yoko. "4 minutes". The creature was now about a foot away from them, glaring daggers. "how did you…where did you get that mirror!" "there are more important things to worry about!" Hiei snapped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~10 minutes earlier~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hiei stood in front of sprite forest, glaring at a little faerie as it whizzed by him. Kurama's scent was much stronger now, it was obvious to him the two had been through here recently. He entered the forest, keeping his hand on the hilt of his katana. As he made his way deeper and deeper into the forest he felt a stinging sensation on his arm. He looked down to see a red headed faerie (Kalen) glaring at him. "What business do you have here!" Hiei didn't even bother to respond he simply flicked the faerie with his finger sending him slamming into a tree. He treaded on following Kurama's scent until he reached a yellow flower. "Who are you?" Hiei looked down at the flower, spotting a sprite with a golden crown atop its head. "Where is the fox?" Hiei asked not bothering to answer the sprites question. "ahh you have come to assist the silvered haired fox" Hiei crossed his arms, glaring impatiently. "I forgot to give him something before he left…please take this to him..he may need it" Hiei's eyes followed Nyx's, 4 faeries appeared, wings flapping with all their might, they were struggling to hold up a large golden mirror…

Everyones attention averted to the cauldron as it began to glow bright red. Hiei had managed to ward off the soul collectors numerous attacks, but it had not yet given up. "its time…" Yoko whispered. Cheza began to slowly walk towards the cauldron as a purple fog began to take the form of a human. The soul collector screeched in anger, this was its last chance to capture Kuronue's soul. The purple mist began to fade and Kuronue's lifeless body stood. The orb of light emerged from the spirit turkey and took off full speed towards Kuronues body. The soul collector took off after the orb in desperation, in a blur Hiei appeared in front of the soul collector, mirror held straight in front of its face. The shrill wail of the creature caused everyone to fall to the ground and cover their ears.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A few minutes passed, everyone looked up as the soul collector abruptly stopped screeching . Cheza looked every which way…the soul collector was nowhere in sight. Her eyes widened in fear, had it gone after Kuronue again! She quickly got to her feet and spun around to see Kuronue staring at her with a smile. She was at a loss of words, it had worked..they had actually brought him back! Hiei and Yoko got to their feet soon after. Yoko looked like he had just seen a ghost, he didn't say a word..but stared in awe at his old comrade.


	11. Chapter 11

The elusive fox had finally been caught. The crude laughter of a bounty hunter echoed around the poor debilitated creature, it had been badly injured. It was running out of energy…out of time. " I shall be known as the prodigious man who killed the infamous Yoko Kurama! You will soon join that pathetic excuse of a bat demon!" The fox came to a halt, it turned and growled viciously at the hunter. "aww whats wrong? Are you sad your little friend suffered a slow and miserable death?"

All the fox wanted to do was rip the bastards throat out, how dare he speak of his fallen comrade like that. The hunter was taunting him..trying to lure him in, the fox was smarter than to fall for such trickery. It knew it couldn't win a fight in its condition, it had to control its anger…it had to escape. The hunter began to slowly walk towards the fox, " I think I shall make you die a slow and miserable death to!" Once again the fox took off, it was desperate…it had to escape..but to where?

Human world…. The spirit fox was now running through a crowd of people, a few women noticed the creature and began to scream. It ran through streets, making leaps and bounds over cars until it felt a searing pain in its side. The hunter had followed him..it had shot the fox with an arrow. The pitiful fox collapsed on the ground. With all its might it struggled back to its feet, catching site of a young pregnant women sitting on a nearby park bench, the fox had an idea..it didn't like it..but it had no other choice. With its last ounce of energy it sprinted to the women and leaped onto her belly. The startled women screamed, a few people turned to look at her..but saw nothing. The fox had vanished inside her before anyone had seen…

Kuronue had an intense expression on his face, he was sitting at the top of the stairs leading to Cheza's and Yusukes apartments. Cheza had gone to take a shower, and Kurama had to go home and check on his mother. The gang had come upon an agreement that Kuronue would stay with Cheza, since she was the only one who lived alone. Kurama certainly couldn't keep his old comrade at his house, his mother and step father would defiantly not approve of letting a strange man with bat wings stay with them.

Kurama had informed Kuronue why he was now In human form before he left. Now, Kuronue kept replaying in his head different ways to kill the bounty hunter he had been told about. He was upset he had not been there to help his friend.

Alice pranced over to Kuronue, "woof!" Kuronue was so lost in thought he didn't even notice Alice had laid her head down on his lap. Off in the distance Hiei sat high up on a tree branch lost in thought as well. He felt some weird emotion towards the bat, he had never really experienced jealousy before…he didn't know what it felt like. He damned his sense of human emotions..it was nothing but a weakness. Hiei had never opened up to anyone except Kurama, and he barely even opened up to him. To see the fox reunited with his best friend had made him jealous. He had no one close to him, no friends..no family..no one…he wanted to have the comfort of knowing there was someone who would always have his back.

Cheza sighed flopping down on her bed, it felt good to finally relax. She figured Kuronue needed some time to himself so she decided to leave him be. After watching tv for awhile she felt her eyeslids getting heavy, *I'll just close my eyes for a minute..then I'll go check on Kuronue* she thought. But she ended falling into a deep sleep, not waking until morning.

Cheza awoke to Alice barking. She yawned looking over at Alice who had her doggy bowl in her mouth. Her eyes widened a bit as she noticed a big lump under her covers, it appeared to be breathing. Being as quiet as she could, she slipped out of bed and stared at the lump. She wondered if she should get Kuronue, just in case it was some weird demon thingy. She decided to just yank the covers off instead, and that she did. To her surprise, Kuronue laid sprawled out on her bed, his wings slightly outstretched, "Kuronue!". The sleepy bat didn't budge, "I must make a mental note to remind him he sleeps on the couch NOT my bed!" she muttered.

After Cheza had done her morning routine she decided to take Alice for a walk. The two ventured outside to see Yusuke saying goodbye to Keiko, who was taking off for work. "Hey Cheza!" Yusuke and Keiko greeted. Cheza waved at the two, and Alice barked." Yusuke you better behave! And make sure to vacuum!" soon after Keiko left, leaving Yusuke and Cheza at the front of the apartment stairs. "so how do you like living with batman?" Yusuke asked. "umm…its like hes not even there" Cheza replied.

"You two talking about me!" Cheza turned to see a sleep-eyed Kuronue walking over. "I havent slept in a bed in so long!" he exclaimed. Yusuke grinned, "first night living together and your already sleeping in the same bed!" Cheza's face turned bright red, "shut up! Its not like that!"

Yusuke began to laugh, "I cant wait to tell Kurama about this!". "Theres nothing to tell!" Cheza exclaimed. Cheza looked over at Kuronue to see him smirking, "your blushing". She felt she was going to die from embarrassment, "Im going to go walk Alice!" she said taking off before Yusuke or Kuronue could respond.

Cheza sat down at a park bench, letting Alice off her leash. It was a nice sunny day out, "woof woof woof!" Alice was barking at a tree she had chased a squirrel up in, now it was chattering angrily at her.

About an hour passed and the two were making their way to the apartment. Cheza stopped in front of a two story house, painted a pale blue. "its been awhile since I've visited any friends.." the house belonged to a friend of hers, she decided to drop in and say hi.

~~~~meanwhile~~~~

"yes mother" Kurama's mom had asked him to do the dishes. He was eager to speak with Kuronue, but he wouldn't be able to until tonight. His mother had invited a family friend over for dinner, and of course it would be rude for him to not attend. For now he was stuck tidying up the house with his kid brother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~that night~~~~~~~~~~~~

"is something troubling you?" Kurama asked. "no" Kuronue replied staring off into space.

"Wheres Cheza?" Kuronue shrugged, "havent seen her all day." Kurama assumed Cheza was what was bothering his old partner in crime, maybe he was worried about her? The two sat in silence at the top of the apartment stairs, the silence didn't last long.

"Hey foxboy!" Yusuke stood in front of his apartment, " I ran into Cheza and her friend earlier, me and Keiko are meeting up with them at a bar if you two wanna join."

"I don't think that is a good idea…" Kurama stated

"come on, it'll be fun! Oh yeah Boton gave this to me" Yusuke walked over handing Kuronue a glass jar filled with a green liquid. "This'll make you appear human..I think Boton said the effects will last about 5 hours..she figured you wouldn't want to be stuck inside all day.. "

"Now theres no reason why you two cant join us!" Keiko exclaimed while peeping her head out the front door.

"Cheza!" Cheza and her friend looked over to see Yusuke waving at them. They were sitting at a table in the back corner of the bar. Cheza was caught off guard as she saw Kurama and Kuronue enter the bar behind Yusuke and Keiko. "Whoa whose that!" her friend said looking over at Kuronue. "That's..umm..my new roommate "

The four sat down at the table joining Cheza and her friend. At first there was an awkward silence but after a few drinks, everyone loosened up. Yusuke's eyes began to wander as a girl with a short skirt walked by earning him a slap to the face by Keiko. Everyone laughed, except Yusuke of course. "I'll be back I have to use the restroom!" Cheza stated. Kuronue watched her as she walked away, " Now that I think about, I have to take a whiz myself". Kuronue got up, while Keiko glared daggers at Yusuke. Kurama watched Kuronue leave, his attention averted to Cheza's friend as she asked him some random question.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Yusuke I do not think it is wise to drink anymore" Kurama said with a chuckle. Yusuke was beyond drunk, Keiko was a bit tipsy. Kurama had seen Cheza and Kuronue walk out the bar a few minutes earlier, he was a bit curious as to why. He decided to excuse himself from the table , his curiosity was getting the better of him…

(5 minutes earlier)

Cheza walked out of the bathroom only to bump into Kuronue. "Kuronue!" she said a bit startled. He completely ignored her and began to walk away. She grabbed his arm pulling him back, "Whats wrong with you! Did I do something?" She could tell he was drunk, maybe he was just one those guys who got angry when they drank?

"Is it really that hard to pick up a phone and tell me where you are!" he snapped. She blinked, "tell you where I am…what are you talking about! Your mad at me because I didn't call to tell you where I was!"

"Anything could have happened to you! What if a demon got a hold of you!". "sorry mother!" Cheza wise-cracked. Cheza could tell she had really pissed Kuronue off at that point. He grabbed her wrist pulling her towards the bar exit.

Kurama walked outside, a few people were coming and going from the bar. For the most part it was pretty quiet outside. Kurama sensed Kuronue's spirit energy coming from behind the bar. He made his way behind it, stopping abruptly he caught site of Kuronue and Cheza. He was taken aback at what he saw. The two were…kissing!

She wasn't quite sure how they came to be kissing, they had been yelling back and forth..out of nowhere Kuronue had embraced her in a passionate kiss. Now, their tongues were intertwined, Cheza felt tingly all over. Everything around her seemed to fade out of view. Kuronue slowly pulled away, Cheza was at a loss of words. "why did you.." before she could finish, he hungrily kissed her lips once more. She didnt know what to think, but she knew she wanted this moment to never end...


	12. Chapter 12

"You two kissed didn't you!" Cheza's friend exclaimed. The two were walking a few blocks from the bar. Kurama had called a taxi, but Cheza decided she rather walk home with her friend. She blushed, "how did you know!" Her friend smiled, "its written all over your face! ". "I hope no one else could tell, I would never hear the end of it if Yusuke found out!". " Who cares, Kuronue is hot!". Cheza and her friend giggled, "why is he living with you? Where did you meet him?".

"its..its a long story!.."

"soo…what was it like?" She felt butterflies as she thought back to the moment. "It was..I don't know..I cant really describe it." "you liked it thought right?". Cheza was glad it was dark out, she knew her face had to be as red as a tomato. "Yes.."

Cheza unlocked her apartment door only to stare into a pitch black room. Flicking the light on, she looked around to see Kuronue passed out on the couch. Alice had his tattered black hat in her mouth, shaking it vigorously. She stared down at the sleeping bat, she wondered if things would be awkward between the two the next day. Shaking the thought from her head she made her way to her bedroom, deciding to take a shower.

She had been in the shower no longer than 10 minutes when she heard a loud crash coming from right outside the shower. She stiffened a bit, the first thought that came to mind was that a demon was in the room with her. She turned the water off and peeped her head out, "what the…" she muttered. "Kuronue! What are you doing! You cant just walk in here when I'm in the shower!"

" You were taking too long, I couldn't hold it any longer!"

"You could have at least knocked! What if you walked in and saw me naked!"

"I wouldn't mind" Kuronue replied. Cheza threw a bar of soap at the drunken bat, "OUT!"

"What was that for!" he exclaimed while rubbing the top of his head.

"Shoo! I cant get out of the shower with you in here!"

"I have to pee still!" Kuronue protested.

"well..go outside!"

~~~~~~Next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheza sat on the floor playing tug-o-war with Alice. She was in the living room with Kuronue who was sprawled out on the couch watching tv. Alice's ears perked up as someone knocked on the door. "I'll get it!" Cheza said getting up. She opened the door to be greeted by Yusuke and Kuwabara. "we got a new videogame! We need two more players!" Yusuke stated.

Upon entering Yusuke's apartment Cheza noticed a beady-eyed bird like creature sitting at the end of the couch next to Kuwabara. Oddly enough, it looked kinda like Yusuke.

"What is that!" Kuronue and Cheza asked in unison. Yusuke looked over at the creature, "oh, that's Puu..he's my spirit beast". The blue little bird creature began to jump up and down excitedly as it heard Yusuke say its name. Kuwabara scratched the critters head, she could tell it loved attention.

Yusuke sat down on the couch motioning for Cheza and Kuronue to join him. The two sat down and Yusuke handed Cheza a game controller and began to unwind another for Kuronue. Cheza thought back to last night, Kuronue hadn't spoken about it..and she wasn't about to bring it up. She wondered if Kuronue even remembered kissing her, he had gotten pretty drunk. "Cheza's on my team!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

~~~~~~~ 3 hours later~~~~~~~~~~~~

The phone rang so Yusuke paused the game to answer it. Cheza noticed out of the corner of her eye Kuronue was staring at her. It was making her nervous, she turned to look at him..but he quickly looked away. "Hey guys Keiko invited us to a free meal at the diner where she works"

"Well what are we waiting for lets go!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "I'll call Kurama and see if he wants to join us" Yusuke said while dialing his number.

The six were all sitting at bar stools waiting for their food. Yusuke was sitting next to Keiko, the two were lost in their own little world. Kurama and Kuronue were chattering away, and Kuwabara was talking nonstop to Cheza, who was tuning him out. She was lost in thought, wondering why Kurama had acted so strange towards her when they entered the diner, had Kuronue told him about the kiss?

"hey there" Cheza turned to see a guy with short black hair and brown eyes smiling at her, "umm..hi."

Kurama noticed Kuronue was no longer paying attention to what he was saying, he was staring at something behind him. Kurama turned to see Cheza talking to some random guy, " your falling for her aren't you?" Kuronue quickly averted his gaze back to Kurama, "what are you talking about! ...what did you say this was called again?" Kuronue asked staring down at his Dr. Pepper . Kurama knew he was trying to change the subject, he decided to not press the topic.

Cheza stiffened a bit as the guy put his arm around her, "you know you're really cute". Cheza felt really uncomfortable, "umm can you please keep your hands to yourself" she said. Instead of listening to her request, the guy's hand started to wander up her leg. She slapped him and told him not to touch her. This got Kurama's and Kuronue's attention, as well as the others. Kuronue stood up glaring daggers at the guy, "Kuronue…don't do anything you will regret" Kurama warned. "I wont regret this" he replied walking over to Cheza. "Is there a problem?" Kuronue asked. "Nothing that is any of YOUR business" the guy replied.

" I think it is my business when your hands are all over my girlfriend" Kuronue replied.

"You can have the bitch!" he said pushing Cheza forward. Without thinking Kuronue swung at him, knocking him out cold. The entire diner went silent, Cheza hadn't even realized Kuronue had knocked the guy out. She was still replaying the words Kuronue had said, " I think it is my business when your hands are all over my girlfriend". "err…I think we better get going Keiko" Yusuke whispered.

Keiko nodded, "yeah…I think youre right." "I'll…I'll see you tonight!" Yusuke said. Kurama got up walking over to Kuronue, "come on we have to leave before any cops show up". Kuwabara walked over to Cheza, "you okay?". She nodded silently as Kurama pulled Kuronue towards the diner exit.

/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\

Kurama sat at his desk staring down at his blank paper, he had an essay due tomorrow..but he just couldn't concentrate. It was pouring rain outside, so he had left the window unlocked for Hiei. He was starting to worry about his spikey haired friend, he hadn't been around much since Kuronue was resurrected. Kurama looked up at the sound of the window opening, "Hiei!". A soaken wet Hiei jumped into his room, sliding the window shut. "Your soaked..would you like to borrow some clothes?"

"hn! Im fine". Hiei sat down at the windowsill glaring at the wall. Kurama sighed, "If you need anything let me know." Hiei didn't respond. Kurama figured Hiei had to be hungry, "I'll be right back".

A few minute passed and Kurama reappeared with a plate of food, sitting it down next to Hiei without saying a word. Kurama sat back down at his desk and tried his best to start his essay. It wasn't long before Hiei began stuffing his face, he was indeed really hungry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Yusuke's apartment~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wheres your boooyfriend!" Yusuke taunted while making kissing noises. "Shutup!" Cheza retorted. Kuronue had went off somewhere on his own once they left the diner, Kurama had left to work on his homework..so it was just Yusuke, Kuwabara and Cheza.

"Comeon Urameshi I want to get as much game time in as I can before school tomorrow!" Kuwabara exclaimed while turning on the PS3. "Its about time to feed Alice, I'll leave you two to your game!" Cheza said walking towards the door. "Say hi to your boyfriend for me!" Yusuke teased as Cheza shut the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Cheza's apartment~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheza fed Alice then sat down on the couch, what was she going to say to Kuronue when he walked in?

She sighed while turning the tv on, after awhile she fell asleep.

It was around 1 in the morning when Kuronue walked in the door. He didn't bother to turn the lights on, he could actually see quite well in the dark. He made his way over to the couch to see Cheza had fallen asleep on it. He stared at her for a moment before carefully picking her up carrying her to her bed.

He sat her down, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. "goodnight Cheza" he whispered before walking away to join Alice, who was sleeping next to the couch.


	13. Chapter 13

Kurama had fallen asleep at his desk, when he awoke he realized he had barely started his essay that was due. "you look terrible" Hiei remarked. Kurama had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was a mess , and he looked half asleep., "Hiei!" he exclaimed a bit startled. Hiei usually left early in the morning before Kurama awoke, he only stayed if it was raining still. Kurama rubbed his eyes while making his way to the bathroom. His mind drifted to Cheza as he began to brush his teeth.

"Why do you keep thinking about that baka ningen!" Hiei asked now standing in the bathroom doorway.

Kurama remained silent, he knew Hiei had been probing his mind. Over and over in his mind he replayed the scene of Cheza and Kuronue kissing. It gave him a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Shuichi! Your going to be late for school!" Kurama turned to face his door just as his mother opened it up. He glanced towards the window to see Hiei dissapear in a black blur,

"Shuichi! Are you feeling alright! Are you sick! you look sick!" she asked while running over to see if he had a fever. "mother Im fine, please don't worry about me". Shiori gave him a worried look.

"mother,I have to get dressed for school or I'll be late" Kurama reminded while giving his mother a reassuring smile. Shiori nodded while hesitantly walking out the door.

Kurama hurried to school, he was already 15 minutes late. "Kurama!" he slowed his pace and looked around spotting Cheza. She had woken up pretty early and couldn't go back to sleep, so she decided to take Alice for a walk. The two met each other half way, "hey!" Cheza exclaimed. Kurama smiled, " good morning". "Off to school? You know youre like 15 minutes late right…No worries though, a couple of guys from your school walked by and I heard them say school was cancelled" Kurama felt a sudden rush of relief, he was dreading showing up late without even completing his essay. "So…umm…I noticed you were acting kinda strange around me yesterday…is something wrong?" Cheza noticed Kurama stiffen a bit, "no..not at all…" he quickly replied. Cheza began to fidget as an uncomfortable silence filled the air.

The silence abruptly ended as a high pitched beep emitted from Kurama's pocket. Cheza watched as he fumbled around in his pocket,soon after he pulled out a compact mirror ...she remembered Yusuke had pulled one out before and an angry toddlers face had appeared.

"Kurama I need you in my office ASAP! Wait for Boton to show up, she will open up a portal for you" Before Kurama could reply the screen went black. Not even a minute later Boton appeard, "Hello Cheza! Nice to see you again!" she exclaimed in her cheery voice. Cheza smiled, "nice to see you again too". "Woof woof woof!" Alice wagged her tail excitedly while approaching the bubbly grim reaper. "aww nice to see you again too!" she said while petting Alice's head. "what is this about?" Kurama asked. "err..I'm not sure..I was just ordered to open a portal for you…Lord Koenma wanted me to get you too Cheza" Cheza blinked, "me?..why?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza found herself standing next to Kurama in front of a large pair of wooded doors laced with gold. Alice had jumped into the portal too,she was now standing next to Cheza. Kurama pushed the doors open to see Koenma sitting at his desk as usual. "Ahh that was fast" Koenma exclaimed. Cheza looked at him confused, he was no toddler…he looked just like the child she had seen on Yusukes communicator thingy..only he was much older..in his teens.

" Hello Cheza, Im sure you have heard of me..I am Koenma ruler of spirit world". "I thought..you were a baby?" "I'm not a baby! Who told you that! Yusuke!"

Cheza shook her head, "no…I just remember seeing you on Yusuke's communicator thingy..and you were..a baby..im confused.."

"Koenma is able to change from toddler to teenage form" Kurama informed.

"that is correct! Now…the reason I brought you two here..OGRE!" A blue ogre ran over with a manila folder in its hand, "here you are Lord Koenma sir!" Koenma opened the folder turning it towards Cheza and Kurama. Cheza looked to see a picture of a demon with slicked back black hair(like Yusukes) ,his eyes were a pale yellow, and he had fox ears atop his head. The name "Jiro Tanaka" was written next to the photo.

"He has been plotting an attack on human world for quite some time, I have reason to believe he plans to strike tonight..now..the reason I brought you here…" Koenma opened up a drawer in his desk, pulling out what looked like a flyer of some sort. "Jiro is throwing a party tonight..he has requested that any demon who comes bring their human slaves. Cheza didn't like where this was going. " I have a demon working undercover..he has informed me Jiro plans to sacrifice all the slaves to bring back an ancient demon..even stronger than an S class..it is in a class of its own, he plans to release this demonb into human world… I will need you two to go undercover and stop this from happening" Kurama exchanged glances with Cheza, "Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuronue will be there as well. Oh, and Cheza you will need to wear traditional slave clothing". Koenma opened his drawer once more pulling out a skimpy outfit that would barely cover up anything. "What! Im not wearing that!" Cheza protested.

~~~~~~~~that evening~~~~~~~

"Were almost at Jiro's castle" Kurama informed. "I believe it would be wise to get into character now". Cheza crossed her arms, "I don't want to wear that stupid outfit!". A white fog began to engulf Kurama, Cheza knew he was changing into his demon form. Yoko soon emerged with a smirk on his face, "Hello kitten..if you want I can help you take your clothes off". Cheza's face turned red, "Shut up!"

"Kitten you have to wear the outfit or you'll stick out like a sore thumb"

"fine..but you better not comment on it!". She decided to change behind a large tree, since it would block the foxes view.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

She felt really uncomfortable in the outfit..she was almost naked! She sighed leaning against the tree, she didn't want Kurama to see her in this..she didn't want anyone to see her!"

Hesitantly she appeared from behind the tree, Yoko had the biggest grin ever on his face. "You better not say anything or else!" Cheza exclaimed. In an instant Yoko was behind her, "or else what?" he whispered in her ear. She felt his hand traveling down her body, she slapped it away. "Don't be getting any ideas now!"

"HEY KURAMA!" The two turned to see Yusuke, Kuronue and Hiei off in the distance.

/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\

You should wear that more often!"Yusuke exclaimed. Kuronue glared at him. Cheza noticed Yusuke had a collar around his neck along with a leash?, "umm…whats with the collar?" For the first time ever, Cheza saw Hiei grin ear to ear..it was kinda creepy.. "I'm...Hiei's slave.." Yusuke said while making air quotes. Hiei yanked on the leash, "come on baka ningen! Get moving!". "Shutup Hiei! I don't have to listen to you!" Yusuke retorted. Yoko began to laugh, "This'll be quite entertaining!".

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza looked around staying close to Yoko. Demons were all around her, shouting, drinking, and such. She had noticed Jiru relaxing in a hot tub with a couple of demon girls all over him awhile ago. "Hey! No humans are allowed in the party! They are to come with me!" said a creepy looking lizard demon. Hiei and Yoko exchanged glances briefly before pushing Yusuke and Cheza forward. Yoko had whispered "don't worry kitten" in her ear before he handed her over to the creepy reptile. Kuronue had tried to stop Yoko, but Yoko had shoved him back.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza held onto Yusuke's arm as they were escorted inside Jiru's castle. Eventually the lizard demon stopped in front of a large cell filled with hundred of other humans. "GET IN!" the demon ordered while shoving Cheza forward into the cell. Yusuke was a bit surprised to see the lizard demon was the only guard around, "so tell me, whats it like to be Jiru's bitch?"Yusuke asked. The lizard demon's eyes narrowed, "what was that?". "I said whats it like to take orders all day and have no mind of your own?"

"why you.." The demon lunged at Yusuke, but he dodged with ease. "SPIRTGUN!" As soon as Yusuke's attack made contact the demon disintegrated, "there should be a secret passage that leads out of here" Yusuke stated while looking over at Cheza. "I..umm..was that part of the plan?" she asked. Yusuke shrugged, " who cares! We gotta get these people out of here!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Yoko, Hiei, and Kuronue had simultaneously looked in the direction of the castle sensing Yusukes spirit gun go off. Jiru had apparently sensed it too, for he looked in the same direction. "Kuronue…follow my lead!" Kuronue nodded at Yoko. Jiru had gotten out of the hot tub and was now walking towards the castle. "Jiru!" he turned to see Yoko and Kuronue, Hiei was up in a tree nearby ready to back up the two if needed. "well well…I finally meet the legendary Yoko Kurama…and his partner in crime Kuronue…I heard you had both perished".

"You heard wrong" Yoko replied.

"so tell me..are you trying to bide time for your little human friends?" Kuronue's eyes widened a bit, Yoko showed no emotion whatsoever. "Follow me" Jiru replied walking towards the castle with his hands in his pockets.

/\/\/\/\inside castle/\/\/\/\

"I think 2..excuse me 3 on 1 is fair" Jiru said staring towards the window. Hiei appeared, jumping gracefully down next to Yoko and Kuronue. "Are you ready?" Jiru calmly asked while making a ball of spirit energy in his hand. Hiei unsheathed his sword, Kuronue and Yoko got in fighting stances.

~~~~~~~~~meanwhile~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yusuke and Cheza were leading around 200 human slaves through secrete underground tunnels, surprisingly no one had tried to stop them yet..but that would quickly change. Cheza came to a halt, "Yusuke…do you feel that!" Yusuke stopped, as well as everyone else. " we must get out of here or we'll all be devoured!"an old man exclaimed. He was not dressed in slave clothing, but Cheza remembered seeing him in the cell. "what?" Cheza asked. "Jiru…he has a large pet serpent…it uses these tunnels to get around…" The old man informed. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that before!" Yusuke yelled. "Well..I thought you could just kill it... like you did that lizard demon". Everyone went dead silent, all that could be heard was water dripping to the ground from a leaky pipe, it was forming a large puddle right in front of Cheza's foot. She stared into the puddle and instantly froze…the serpent was right behind her!


	14. Chapter 14

Jiru stood laughing manically while wiping blood from his lip. About a minute before Jiru had sent a ball of spirit energy towards the three (Hiei, Kuronue,Yoko), the trio had evaded the attack with ease. Not even a second after Yoko had appeared next to Jiru, hitting him with a left punch to the chin. The fox had dazed him and split his lip, but no real damage had been done.

"Whats so funny?" Yoko asked while narrowing his eyes.

"I don't have time to deal with you..I'm more concerned about your little human friends, I wont let them ruin my plans". Jiru let out a high pitched whistle, soon after the ground began to shake. He began to laugh once more "my pet will finish you off while I take care of business!". The three watched as Jiru disappeared from site, an eerie silence filled the air.

/\/\/\/\

Cheza spun around staring eye to eye with a colossal snake. A large red diamond was embedded in its forehead, its beady eyes matched the color of the jewel. It became apparent to her the serpent was about to strike, Yusuke quickly stepped in front of her while charging his spirit gun. Just as it was about to strike a loud whistle echoed through the tunnel, instantly the snake looked up..within seconds the creature took off. Yusuke and Cheza exchanged glances, "lets get the hell out of here!" Yusuke exclaimed. Soon after, everyone took off..hoping to escape before the serpent returned.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Yoko turned just in time to see a gigantic snake approaching in a wavey like motion. Hiei and Kuronue quickly turned around as well when a loud hissing noise erupted from the reptiles mouth.

"At least he doesn't have a giant pet spider…" Kuronue muttered. The bat had a fear of spiders, Yoko would always throw one on him just for kicks back in the day.

Hiei lunged forward in an attempt to cut the serpents throat, his sword ended up bending in half…

Kuronue attacked with his scythes soon after, not even a scratch was left on the reptilian.

The three soon realized the snake's body was impenetrable, its thick skin was stronger than any armor.

"what now…" Kuronue asked looking over at Yoko. Before he could respond the serpent made its move, it began to cough up…eggs? Black eggs about the size of a cat collided with the floor, instantly strange little snake-like creatures emerged from them…they appeared to made of black fire. Yoko used his rose whip, each one he hit disappeared in a "poof" of black smoke. Yoko's nose crinkled and his eyes began to water as the smoke formed a large black cloud. "Poison" Hiei stated.

The colossal snake's eyes began to glow bright red, along with the diamond on its head. What looked like a laser beam shot out of its eyes, "Don't let it hit you! You will turn to stone!"Yoko warned. The fox knew this because he had fought a women long ago, her upper half was human..but her lower half was that of a snake. She too had a red diamond encrusted in her forehead, and she too shot beams out of her eyes. Right before his very eyes he had seen his friend turn to stone..and with a swipe of the snake woman's tail he had crumbled into a million pieces.

Frustration was building…no matter how many battles the three had been in..they had always known how to defeat their enemy. Yoko had thought about striking the diamond but it would be impossible to break..then it hit him…

Yoko took off in a silver blur, "where are you going!" Kuronue yelled after him.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Yusuke let out a sigh of relief, they had made it out of the hidden tunnel alive! "Hey binki-breath!" Yusuke yelled into his communicator. The mini spirit ruler's face appeared, "what is it Yusuke! is something wrong!"

"We have all the slaves Jiru was planning to sacrifice… …where are we supposed to take them?"

There wasn't anywhere to really go..one way or another they would have to cross paths with demons…Yusuke wouldn't be able to protect every single person.

"err…BOTON! Boton and I will be there in a minute!" the screen went black and Koenma's face disappeared.

A few minutes passed and sure enough Boton and Koenma appeared. "We must hurry!" Koenma exclaimed. Boton nodded while opening up a portal. "Listen up!, I need you all to walk through this portal! "

The slaves exchanged glances before hesitantly following Koenma's instructions. Before entering the portal and disappearing behind the last slave, Koenma ordered Yusuke and Cheza to find Kurama and the others.

Cheza and Yusuke now stood behind the castle the pale moonlight shining on their faces. It was pretty quiet outside, far off in the distance yelling and such could be heard from Jiru's party..but for the most part it was quiet.

"Spirit detective". Cheza and Yusuke looked in the direction of the voice, Jiru emerged from the shadows.

"you ruined my plan…I shall make you suffer greatly for it!"

Yusuke began to crack his knuckles, "Cheza get behind me".

Within seconds the two were throwing punches back and forth. Yusuke made contact with Jiru's temple, at the same time Jiru made contact with Yusuke's stomach. The two skidded back, only to collide once more with a fury of punches.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~meanwhile~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoko now stood side by side with Hiei and Kuronue, a mirror in hand. Kuronue was puzzled as to why he had gone to get a mirror, but Hiei had figured out the fox's plan. Once again the snake shot red beams out of its eyes..this time Yoko sprinted in front of it holding the mirror up. The beam deflected off the mirror heading straight back at the snake. The creature turned to stone….

Hiei threw a left jab at the serpentine sculpture..it shattered to the ground in a million little pieces.

"Yusuke's spirit energy is fading.." Yoko informed while taking off in a sliver blur.

/\/\/\/\/\

Jiru kicked Yusuke in his side, he began to cough up blood. Jiru had injured him badly…he was coming in and out of consciousness. "one down…one to go" Jiru's gaze fell upon Cheza. Cheza began to back away as Jiru began to walk forward, "don't worry I'll make it quick and painless". In a blink of an eye Jiru had slammed Cheza into the ground. She quickly stumbled to her feet and took off running. Cheza came to a halt and looked behind her after running for what seemed liked forever.

"boo!" Jiru now stood in front of her…. Her eyes widened a bit as she felt a searing pain in her left shoulder. Her piercing blue eyes stared down to see the bloody handle of a dagger sticking out. "now to finish you off!" Jiru grabbed the handle of the dagger and began to twist, she screamed in agony. Her vision began to blur soon everything went black. All of a sudden Jiru felt a burning sensation in his right arm..he stared at the source of pain to see his arm was no longer there. "you insulant fool! How dare you!"

Kuronue's scythe had reached its intended target…

Hiei unsheathed his katana as Kuronue put some of his spirit energy into his other scythe. Yoko quickly approached Cheza's limp form, she was a bloody mess.

He examined the wound, he had to act fast..if she lost much more blood she would not survive. He knew better than to pull the dagger out…there wasn't much he could do besides get to her to a hospital and fast.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A week had gone by and Cheza had finally been released from the spirit world hospital. Her wounds had not fully healed, she was ordered by the doctor to change her dressings twice a day. On the way back to her apartment,Boton had informed her Kuronue and Hiei had finished off Jiru and that Yusuke had made a full recovery.

/\/\/\

Cheza stared up at the ceiling in her bedroom, she had not seen anyone yet…it was around 9 at night..so she figured Kuronue would show up soon.

A knock at the door tore her from her thoughts.

"Kurama!" she said with a smile while opening the door wide enough for him to enter. Alice barked and wagged her tail excitedly.

"how are you feeling? Boton told me you were released today". "Im okay.."she muttered as Kurama walked in.

Just as Cheza was fixing to shut the door she heard Yusuke yell "Hey Cheza!" Yusuke walked in, he had a black eye but other than that he looked to be in good health, " I need your guys help..Im stuck on the video game I've been playing!" Before Kurama or Cheza could respond Yusuke was pulling them out the door.

/\/\

After playing videogames for nearly 3 hours Cheza decided to call it a night. Kurama walked her to her door. "Wheres Kuronue?" Cheza asked. "I sense his spirit energy..he isn't far" Kurama replied. Cheza sighed as she noticed blood soaking through her tanktop, "Well…goodnight! I have to go change my bandages".

"If you would like I can help you" Kurama offered.

Cheza lead Kurama to her bedroom, pulling out a box of bandages she sat down on the bed. Kurama turned a slight red as he slid the straps of her tank top down to undo her old bandages. After he had finished redressing her wound he sat down next to her on the bed, "Do you…have feelings for Kuronue?"

Cheza's eyes widened a bit, "I…umm…I don't really know" she replied. He looked away staring off into space, Cheza was curious as to why he had asked such a question. "Did he say something to you?" she asked. He remained silent for a moment before replying with a "no".

After a few minutes the two found themselves gazing into each others eyes.

"I..better go its getting late" Kurama replied after realizing he had been staring at her for quite some time. She was so lost in his emerald orbs..she didn't even hear what he had just said. He stared at her for a moment, expecting her to respond but she didn't. With out realizing it, he leaned in closer to her.. it was as if Yoko had taken over..next thing they knew..their lips were embracing in a long kiss. The intoxicating smell of roses flooded Cheza's senses as Kurama began to explore her mouth with his tongue…he tasted like sweet nectar.

/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\

Kuronue walked into Cheza's apartment, he sensed Kurama in Cheza's bedroom. It was pretty late, why would Kurama be here? And in Cheza's bedroom! Being careful not to make any noise Kuronue approached Cheza's bedroom door, to his dismay Kurama and Cheza were kissing. He clinched his fist in anger feeling betrayed. Alice began to bark as she noticed Kuronue in the doorway, Kurama and Cheza quickly pulled away looking in the direction of the door..but no one was there…


	15. Chapter 15

Kuronue's scythe lodged itself deep inside a tree Hiei just happened to be up in. Hiei had been asleep until the bat had gone on his rampage…he had punched and kicked..and now struck the poor tree with his scythe..he was also yelling all sorts of curse words. Hiei jumped from a branch high up in the tree landing gracefully in front of the irate bat, "Do you think it is possible for you to shut up?"

Kuronue stared at him, "where the hell did you come from!"

Hiei ignored the bats remark,"So the fox has stolen your "woman"." Hiei smirked.

Kuronue clinched his fist, " shut up!"."Make me" Hiei retorted. Kuronue threw a right punch at him, Hiei simply moved his head a few inches to the left. "I didn't know Kurama had it in him..I was beginning to think you two were more than just friends". Kuronue knew Hiei was taunting him, but he couldn't help but get angry. Kuronue began to focus energy into his other scythe, Hiei crossed his arms an amused look on his face.

"Kuronue!" Hiei's crimson orbs fell upon Kurama, "what are you two doing?" he asked noticing Kuronue was powering up his scythe. Kuronue's eyes narrowed as he spread his wings out, soon after he took to the skies vanishing from site. "Whats going on? Is he okay?" Kurama asked. "He got into a fight with the tree…he lost" Hiei replied. Kurama gave him a confused look, he stared at the tree to see Kuronue's scythe lodged in it. "I don't understand" Kurama responded. "he caught you sucking face with that baka ona" Hiei replied before jumping into a tree and vanishing from site.

/\/\/\/\

The night had come and gone, now it was around afternoon. Cheza walked outside to take Alice on a walk. "Hey Cheza!" Kuwabara greeted from in front of Yusuke's apartment door. Yusuke soon appeared, "hey I was just about to come ask you if you wanted to come to grandma's with us..Hiei and Kurama are gonna be there". "grandmas?"

"you know..the old hag with pink hair..around Hiei's height". "I remember having a sleep over.. there..but I never met her". "oh yeah,That's right..well I'll have to introduce you to her" Yusuke replied.

"will Hiei's sister be there?" Cheza asked while picturing Yukina in her mind. "Hiei doesn't have a sister!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "I thought Yu.." Yusuke ran over placing his hand over her mouth, "heh…can I ..umm talk to you for a moment…in private" Yusuke pulled Cheza into the apartment past Kuwabara, "how do you know about Yukina!" he whispered. "what do you mean..its pretty obvious..they have the same eyes and stuff"' Cheza responded. "Yukina doesn't know Hiei is her brother..Hiei wants to keep it that way..so just..dont say anything to anyone". Cheza nodded, "okay..I don't see what the big deal is though.."

/\/\/\/\

As they walked up Genkai's never ending stairs Cheza was in awe..she didn't realize how beautiful this place really was. Everything was green and luscious looking and the ocean could be seen off in the distance, it was a site to behold. "your late dimwit". As the three made it to the top of the stairs an aging woman dressed in martial arts clothing stood arms crossed. Her gaze fell upon Puu..then Alice..then Cheza.

"Genkai this is Cheza…Cheza..this is Genkai!" Kuwabara exclaimed. Genkai gave a slight nod of the head, "Nice to meet you". "Cheza! Kazuma! Yusuke!" Yukina walked over to the three, a bright smile on her face. "YUKINA!" Kuwabara exclaimed. Jeese..everytime he's around her he's like a lovesick puppy…Cheza thought.

Hiei and Kurama appeared soon after. Hiei was glaring daggers at Kuwabara who was making googley eyes at Yukina, Kurama kept staring at Cheza..and Cheza kept staring back. "enough chit-chat.. time to begin your training" Genkai stated while walking away. "Cheza..would you like to go down to the beach with me?" Yukina asked. Alice barked excitedly, "sure..Alice loves the beach!".

/\/\/\/\/\

As the two dipped their feet into the cold water, Cheza's mind drifted to Kuronue. He never showed up last night..she hadn't even seen him in over a week. "so ..you and Kurama are dating right?" Cheza's eyes widened a bit, "huh…what?". Yukina giggled, "The way you two were looking at each other…sorry its none of my business". Cheza decided to change the subject to avoid any awkwardness, "so..what kind of demon are you..I mean..you're so nice its hard to believe you're a demon"

Yukina smiled sweetly while staring up at the sky, "I am an ice apparition". The two continued to walk admiring the sites as Alice chased seagulls around. The sky was a dazzling baby blue with big fluffy white clouds. The ocean seemed endless, it was amazing to her just how big it really was. As the wind began to pick up, the smell of salt flooded Cheza's nose. "A star fish!" Yukina exclaimed while picking up the defenseless creature. It was obviously still alive, Yukina gently tossed it back into the ocean, "good bye little star ".

/\/\/\/\/\

Yoko advanced towards Hiei, rose whip in hand. The two were sparing, so far it was a back and forth battle, no distinct winner. "Fist of the mortal flame!" both of Hiei's hands began to glow. "petals and thorns!" Kurama unleashed a whirlwind of petals just as Hiei lunged forward. Hiei felt a sharp stinging sensation on his right cheek, it was as if a razor blade had sliced him. He quickly jumped back while wiping the blood from his cheek. After awhile the two decided to take a break, Hiei rested atop a tree while Yoko rested underneath it. Yoko began to ponder about Kuronue, he couldn't be that upset about the kiss…could he? "hn! I find it repulsing that friend of yours would fall for a human anyways..I find it even more repulsing you kissed that baka ona!" Yoko sighed, "it was just a kiss". Hiei jumped down from the tree glaring at the fox, "was it?".

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza wandered down a trail leading to a hot spring. Yukina had gone to make supper, so she was just with Alice. She looked in every direction to make sure no one was around before stripping down and sliding into the water. She closed her eyes enjoying the warmth of the hot spring. Alice stayed at the waters edge staring at her reflection with curious eyes. "Hello kitten". Cheza looked over to see Yoko beginning to undress, "I really hope you don't plan to take all your clothes off!" she exclaimed. Yoko smirked , just as he was fixing to reveal everything Cheza looked away. She heard Yoko enter the water soon after, she knew she was turning bright red. She decided to try to ignore the fox, so she closed her eyes again and let her mind drift. After awhile she opened her eyes, her gaze fell upon Yoko, his eyes were closed..he appeared to be resting. Cheza stared at him for quite some time..without even realizing it.  
"like what you see kitten?" Cheza quickly looked away without saying anything.

"Hey you two we have a big problem!" Cheza jumped, Boton had startled her. "Boton?"

The blue haired grim reaper was not her bubbly self, her eyes were filled with worry.

"Whats going on?" Yoko asked. "The others are already at Koenma's, please get dressed and I'll open up a portal for you..Koenma will explain everything!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ogres were frantically running every which way, Koenma was pacing back and forth. Cheza, Yoko, and Boton appeared in front of the mini-spirit rulers desk. Koenma stopped pacing, " Now that your all here…"

Yoko scanned the room to see Hiei , Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kuronue standing in different parts of the room. Cheza stared over at Kuronue, he glanced at her but quickly looked away.

"The guardian of the river styx has been killed, there is a something very powerful lurking in that river... it is responsible for the guardian's death….Boton cannot ferry any souls to the underworld…whatever has made its home in the river is gobbling up all the souls she trys to bring across"

"whats the river styx?" Cheza asked confused. " It is a river that forms the boundary between earth and the underworld…it circles the underworld 9 times..if you drink from the river..or bathe in it... it is said you become invulnerable" Kurama informed. "Yes..this is true..but you can actually still die…have you heard of Achilles? He was dipped in the river styx as a child…he acquired invulnerability..except for his heel. Whatever creature is in the river..it will have a vulnerable spot as well.."

"errm…Lord Koenma I think you should let Cheza know shes going to be the bait in this mission"Boton said.

"what? Im not going to be bait!" Cheza protested. Koenma fumbled around in his pocket pulling out what looked like a rubik's cube. " Kurama, you are aware as to how to use this?" Yoko nodded, "I don't know if this is a good idea..she could be killed"

"what the heck is that thing!" Yusuke asked. Koenma tossed the cube to Yoko, "Boton will guide you to the river styx…Kurama will inform you on the way"

Cheza stared at Yoko, he could sense she was scared. "Don't worry kitten..I wont let anything happen to you" he whispered.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The gang stood at the edge of a winding river, a small boat in front of them. "A boat?" Boton nodded, "the river will carry you upstream...you will come across a forest after awhile..you will have to walk through it...after you pass through the forest you will come across another river..the river styx...wait for me there!I will keep a look out from afar!" Boton took off to the skies on her broom vanishing from site. Hesitantly everyone entered the boat, unknown of the horros that were to come..


	16. Chapter 16

The gang had been traveling up stream for over an hour, there was no site of the forest Boton had spoken of. Nightmarish looking trees were all around them, many appeared to have faces..they reminded Cheza of something out of a horror film. Lightning had begun streaking the sky, and the luminous water was beginning to run black. "this place is creepy!" Kuwabara exclaimed.  
"Hell yeah it is…" Yusuke retorted. Hiei's crimson orbs stared into the murky depths of the water, "theres something in the water" Cheza stared into the river..but it was so dark nothing could be seen. Yoko pulled a rose from his hair, he to sensed an ominous presence. Cheza nearly fell out of the boat as something rammed into them, Kuronue had grabbed onto her arm pulling her back before she fell though.  
"What…was that?" Kuwabara asked uneasily. Something had bumped into the bottom of the boat.

Hiei placed his hand on the hilt of his katana. Kuronue pulled out his scythes, Kuwabara and Yusuke got into fighting stances. What sounded like finger nails scraping against a chalkboard echoed through out their ears, something was scraping against the bottom of the boat.

All eyes were now on the water. Cheza's heart began to pound as a giant yellow eye stared up at her, "umm…guys" Yoko walked over to Cheza and stared down at the water, nothing was there…

A load groan was heard..soon after 8 large tentacles shot out of the water. Hiei lunged at one of the arms, severing it with his katana. Yoko wrapped his rose whip around another, while Kuwabara cut through one with his sword. To everyones dismay..the boat tipped over, everyone fell into the water.

/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza had been dragged further upstream, the last thing she had seen was a giant octopus, its mouth wide open, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. She had managed to make it to land after nearly drowning to death, there was no sign of the others.

Cheza panted heavily as she collapsed at the river's edge, she was beyond happy to be on solid ground.

After catching her breath she sat up and looked around her, a forest could be seen not too far away..she was almost certain it was the one Boton had been talking about. She decided to walk through it, she figured that's where the others would head (if they were still alive)…and even if she didn't run into them..she would hopefully find Boton.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza cautiously entered the forest, it was like entering an entirely different world. She soon realized she had passed through some type of barrier, there was now a full moon out. It had looked gloomy and dark out moments before..but there had been no full moon. Moss dripped from the ominous looking trees around her like decaying flesh. The wind sent chills down her spine, it sounded like it was whispering her name. The bottom of the forest floor was shrouded in mist, she was half expecting a werewolf to pop out of nowhere and attack her. The slightest sound made Cheza jump, she was beyond freaked out. She continued to walk deeper and deeper into the woods, she wasn't sure where to go..but she followed a path that someone had made at some point in time. Eventually she came across a swamp, she stared into it…she was afraid there would be alligators…or even worse some type of alligator demon thingy. She continued to walk only to trip over a root, she fell not to the ground…but onto something bumpy and cold. She quickly scrambled to her feet, meeting eyes with a crimson-eyed alligator. It hissed at her and went on the attack. She screamed and ran as fast as she could, she felt branches digging into her skin as she ran but she paid no attention. After running as long as she could she turned to make sure the alligator was no longer near her..thats when she bumped into someone..or something. Before she could scream a hand was placed over her mouth. "shh" the shadowy figure whispered. She struggled to get out of the shadowy figures grasp..but it was no use. "Kitten its me..be quiet..somethings been following me". Cheza quickly recognized the voice , it was Yoko. He removed his hand and turned her to face him, she embraced him in a death hug, refusing to let go. "are the others okay!" Cheza whispered. "I don't know" Yoko replied. A rustling from a tree above them caught Yoko's attention. He quickly pulled a rose from his hair and waited for whatever had been following him to strike. A shadowy figure jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully in front of them. A familiar pair of crimson eyes glared at them, "Hiei!".

Yoko let out a sigh of relief, "It was you that was following me". "I thought you could sense other demons that were around…"Cheza said. "There are a lot of demonic creatures as well as plants in this forest..I can sense demonic spirit energy in every direction.."

"do you know if the others are okay?" Cheza asked. "Hn! Who cares" Hiei responded. "Come on, we need to get moving..it isn't safe here" Yoko advised while taking Cheza's hand in his.

/\/\/\/\/\\

"what…was that!" Cheza asked uneasily. "What is it?" Yoko asked ,his ears twitching at the slightest sounds. Cheza stared up at the sky, "I saw….I saw something flying through the sky..something BIG" Yoko's golden orbs stared up at the moon-lit sky, he saw the shadowy figure of what looked like a giant bird flying around in circles. Yoko pulled a seed from his hair, creating a white rose..it was glowing so bright Cheza had to look way. "what are you doing! That thing is going to see that glowing and come down here and eat us!" Cheza exclaimed. She stared back up at the sky to see the shadowy figure heading straight for them. Cheza ran and hid behind Yoko just as the creature collided with the ground. "OUCH!" came an all too familiar voice. Cheza peeped out from behind Yoko to see Kuronue rubbing his head. "Are you alright?" Yoko asked while offering his hand to help him up. Kuronue stared at him for a moment before taking his hand, "Im fine".

"SPIRITGUN!" A loud explosion flooded their ears followed by a menacing roar. Cheza could see the outline of two figures running towards them…and..what looked like the outline of a lion. "A lion! Are you serious! Why didn't Boton mention this place is a death trap!" Cheza exclaimed.

"that is no lion…" Yoko pointed out. Yusuke and Kuwabara soon reached the others..and so did something else. Cheza stared wide-eyed as a lion-like creature approached, it had 2 heads…

One head was that of a goat..the other a lion….and its tail was that of a snake. "Why have you come here?" the creature questioned. "you…can talk!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Abbas.." Yoko muttered.

"A friend of yours?" Hiei asked the fox, his hand lingering on the hilt of his katana. "No, but I have heard of him…" The chimera sat on its haunches, apparently feeling the group was of no threat. "he was once guardian of the River styx" Yoko informed. The mismatched creature nodded, "that was long ago..I have been asked to guard it once more..but I fear the creature that haunts the river…it killed my best friend..the most recent guardian of the river styx..I am no match for such a monstrosity.. my friend was much stronger than I..he was torn limb from limb.."

"And you want to use me as bait! No way!" Cheza proclaimed. "If you are wise you will leave this place..but if you persist I will show you the way out of here." The chimera announced. Everyone exchanged glances, "show us the way" Yoko replied.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"This is as far as I will go" the chimera stated. The gang had made it out of the forest, all that was left was for them to walk through the invisible barrier that surrounded the place. "farewell" the chimera commented before disappearing back into the underbrush of the forest. Everyone passed through the barrier, staring into the crimson river known as the river styx. "is..that blood!" Yusuke exclaimed. "There you guys are!" Boton appeared hovering in front of the gang. "Ya know you coulda warned us about that freakin octopus thing back there!" Yusuke scolded. "yeah! I thought you were keeping a lookout for us!" Kuwabara chimed in. "Err..I was…but then Koenma needed my help so I had to leave…I came back though…I've waited at least 20 minutes here for you guys! I was beginning to think something happened"

Hiei stared into the river, his reflection glaring back at him. Everyone watched as he dipped his finger into the water, after he pulled it out..he licked it. "the guardians blood…"

Kuwabara grimaced, "that's digusting half pint!" Hiei ignored his comment. Boton looked disturbed, "heh..no one has been brave enough to remove the guardians remains..so its blood continues to leak into the river". "well…that's disturbing.." Yusuke commented.

"soo…now that everyone's here…" Boton pulled out a suite case, she opened it and tossed diving masks to everyone..then she handed everyone a little blue pill. "what the hell is this for?" Yusuke asked. "Youre going to have to dive into the river…it doesn't look that deep..but it is… there is a hidden cave somewhere beneath…once you find the entrance you will find an underground cavern..we believe this is the creatures hideout… the blue pill I gave you will give you the ability to breathe under water for up to 5 hours"

"I thought..if we entered the water we would become immortal..or something like that" Cheza reminded. Boton nodded, "yes..normally this is true..but the water's effects are longer working because of the slain guardians blood…it did something to the water"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Everyone exchanged glances. The gang had stripped down to their boxers…Cheza kept her clothes on. "okay guys..on three" Yusuke said. Yoko took Cheza's hand, "2….three!" Everyone jumped into the river . Cheza instantly felt like she was an ice cube, she looked around..she couldn't really see all that well..but Yoko held onto her hand and guided her through the water. After swimming around for quite some time the gang surfaced after entering the notorious cave Boton had spoken of. They were all now standing in an underground cavern. Cheza took off her mask then looked around, it was to dark to really see anything so Yoko used the familiar white flower to light up their surroundings. Stalagmite occupied the ceiling , the place was pretty baron. "hey". Everyone turned to Kuronue who staring at a large severed arm of some kind of creature. "I think im gonna be sick!"Kuwabara exclaimed. "a severed limb of the guardian…we must be very cautious..whatever did this is probably nearby" Yoko warned. Cheza felt sick to her stomach, "lets get this over with and go home!". "this way" Hiei said glaring at the others.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I cant fit!" Kuwabara exclaimed. The gang had to go through tunnels, crevices..and such..some large..some narrow. they had finally reached another large room…but Kuwabara was to big to fit through the crevice that lead to it. "hn! Stay there and be quiet then". Kuwabara crossed his arms, "What if that creepy monster thing comes along wantin to eat me for lunch!". Hiei smirked, " then I wont have to hear your annoying voice anymore". "SHUT UP HIEI!". "This is no time to argue..I am sensing an energy signature..I am almost certain we have found our culprit" Kurama stated (He had changed back into his human form a few minutes before).

The gang continued on, leaving poor kuwabara by himself….


	17. Chapter 17

"Watch out you fool!" Hiei forewarned while shoving Yusuke out of the way just in time. A big blob of what looked like ink splattered against the cave wall melting a hole through it. Yusuke's eyes widened a bit, he stared up at Hiei, "I knew you cared! You big softie!" he wise-cracked. Hiei simply glared, his eye twitching in annoyance. Their attention quickly averted as a shrilling voice flooded their ears. "I could kill you at any second..yet here you are acting as if I am of no threat"

Cheza's eyes widened as a man/ octopus thingy emerged from the shadows. The strange creature reminded Cheza of Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean. In fact, he was almost identical to him in appearance, except he wore no hat and his clothing was different.

"get behind me" Kurama whispered to Cheza. "You escaped my pet..but you wont escape me". Cheza figured his "pet" must have been the octopus they had encountered earlier.

Kuronue crinkled his nose in disgust, the octopus man smelled like rotting flesh, with a tinge of fish.

"why have you slain the guardian?" Kurama asked, his gaze not once faltering off of the mollusk.

He grinned, his slimy tentacles squirming around like worms. "that's for me to know.." he replied.

"Enough talk!" Yusuke charged at the tentacle freak, throwing a haymaker at him. He made contact..but it didn't even phase Mr. Octopus man. A tentacle wrapped around Yusuke's wrist, "I must say that kinda hurt…but this will hurt a lot more". An uppercut to the head sent Yusuke flying, "who's next?". Hiei unsheathed his katana and in a blink of an eye his sword sliced off one of the octopus man's tentacles.

He glared staring down at his severed tentacle, "now that wasn't very nice". Cheza watched as he stuck his hand inside his pocket..pulling out a pair of starfish. "starfish?" Kuronue exclaimed a bit puzzled. Hiei grinned, "it will take much more than a pathetic star to…" A starfish whizzed through the air slicing into Hiei's shoulder. "it's as if he is using shurikens(ninja stars)" Kurama observed. Soon after another one came whizzing by, this time aimed for Kuronue. He quickly blocked the attack with his scythe. "Hey umm…wasn't I supposed to be bait or something…you didn't forget about that cube thingy did you?..now that I mention it…you never told me what that cube thingy does!"

"I cannot use it yet..he must be in a weakened state.." Kurama replied in a whisper. "he's umm…your going to trap him in that cube thingy aren't you?" Kurama nodded, "yes". "soo..its like a pokeball! You weaken him..then you throw the ball..cube in this case at him..and he's trapped inside!" Kurama pushed Cheza out of the way just as a bolt of electricity came hurdling at her. "what the hell was that!" she hadn't been paying attention, the demented mollusk had an electric eel in hand…

"he has the power to manipulate sea creatures" Kurama said to no one in particular. First he threw starfish like they were ninja stars…and now he was using an electric eel to shoot bolts of electricity like a friggen Pikachu!

Kuronue was next to attack, he managed to dodge the bolts of lightning. His scythes began to glow a faint purple as he poured some of his spirit energy into them. He lunged forward slicing into the octopus man's side. He managed to jump back unscathed..or so he thought. In a matter of seconds, Kuronue had a pained expression on his face. He began clutching his arm,"Kuronue!" Kurama ran to his old comrade's side sensing something was amiss. Cheza watched as Hiei began to remove the bandages around his arm, she had always wondered why he kept his arm bandaged up.

Kurama looked up noticing what Hiei was doing, "Hiei! this whole place will cave in if you.."

"SPIRIT GUN!" Everyone turned to see Yusuke panting heavily, wiping blood from his lip. The attack blasted a hole through the mollusk's belly. Instead of falling to the ground in pain..the mollusk simply laughed. "it will take much more than that to kill me". The hole in his stomach began to heal itself until It looked as if nothing had happened. "damn it!" Yusuke exclaimed while clinching his fist in frustration.

Cheza watched as Hiei tossed his head band aside, revealing a glowing eye. Cheza had never seen his Jagan before..it freaked her out to say the least. Flames began to dance around Hiei, engulfing him.

Mr. Octopus man said not a word, he did not take his gaze off of Hiei..not even for a second. Black smoke began to arise from Hiei's hand, the octopus man's eyes widened..he looked..scared!

Cheza had noticed when Hiei had removed the bandages around his arm that he had a tattoo of a black dragon..it was now moving up his arm..into his hand.

"Come on" Yusuke said to Cheza pulling her towards Kurama and Kuronue. Kurama looked up his eyes widened a bit, he hadn't noticed what Hiei was doing..since he was busy trying to help Kuronue. It was to late to stop him now..

"DRAGON OF THE DARKNESS FLAME!"

Black smoke poured out of his hand, soon a giant black dragon emerged. "wha..what is that!"

" Hiei has the ability to summon a black dragon..it comes from the deepest pits of Demon World " Kurama informed. "he…can control it right?" Cheza asked staring up uneasily at the ominous looking dragon. Kurama nodded, "yes..he controls it with his evil eye.."

A horrible screech from the dragon flooded their ears, soon after the dragon headed straight for the demented mollusk. He didn't even try to dodge the attack..he looked like he was scared stiff! An eerie painful scream echoed around them, octopus man had been devoured….

/\/\/\/\

"so what was that cube thingy for anyways? You never even used it." Yusuke asked as Kurama handed it over to Koenma. "Thanks to Hiei we didn't have to". "hn" was Hiei's response as he leaned against the wall. Boton had escorted Kuronue to the infirmary and Koenma had informed them that Kuwabara was back safe and sound at his house. Cheza stared over at Hiei's arm, which he was now bandaging up. "what ona?" he hissed without looking up. She quickly averted her gaze to the mini spirit ruler who was now yelling for George(the ogre). "Can we go yet carpet crawler!"Yusuke wise-cracked. Koenma's eye twitched in annoyance, "actually..since you are all here..I would like to invite you to the annual Halloween bash! OGRE!" Finally the blue ogre appeared with a orange orb floating over his hand. "this is your invitation..you will need it to get in" Koenma said motioning towards the orb. Yusuke snatched it from the air and stared down at it. "now you may all go…oh and dont forget to wear a costume!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Alice disappeared into the shadows as Cheza sat down at a park bench. It was around midnight, Cheza just couldn't sleep so she decided to walk Alice. She stared lost in thought until she felt a hand on her shoulder, which scared the living daylights out of her. Her blue orbs stared into a pair of emerald ones, "Kurama! What are you doing here!" He smiled and sat down next to her, " I was at Yusukes..I sensed you were here..its not safe you know..to be out here all alone at night". "nothing will happen to me.." Cheza replied. Kurama frowned, " You should be more wary of what is out there..it is not only demons you must watch out for…"

The two sat in silence for awhile..until Kurama spoke. "I was going to ask you this tomorrow..well technically later on today..if you would like to….go with me to the haunted house downtown..Yusuke and Keiko are going..". Cheza smiled, "sure..so..umm.." She was a bit hesitant to ask this but she did anyways, "is this…like…like a double date?" She was expecting the fox to show some sort of emotion..but he kept his calm demeanor. "yes…afterwards..if you would like we could go to Koenma's Halloween party.."

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Keiko held onto Yusukes arm with a death grip as the four made their way into the haunted house. Kurama offered his hand for Cheza to take, which she did. They first entered a room that had flashing lights, evil clowns and typical creatures that go bump in the night. Keiko was the only one that was scared, although the clowns did freak Cheza out..she never liked Clowns after seeing the movie IT. Kurama noticed, since Cheza squeezed his hand tighter at the site of one. "Scared of clowns?" he asked with a smirk. "I'll be honest with you..I hate clowns!"

"Clowns aren't meant to be scary..they are meant to make you laugh" Kurama replied. "I'm going to have to agree with Cheza..clowns freak me out!" Yusuke exclaimed. Evil laughter erupted from a speaker hidden somewhere in the room, off in the distance a girl could be heard screaming. They were still in the first room of the haunted house. The "haunted house" was really an old abandoned two-story home, a couple had been murdered there about 6 months ago...and it was rumored to be haunted. As they entered the second room, the flashing lights ceased. A fake jail cell was set up, inside a "werewolf" was chained to the wall, in its hand a bloody heart.

After passing through a few more rooms the four made it to a flight of stairs. Fake cobwebs with giant harry spiders clinging to them lined the banister. At the top was an apparition of a women she had a deep bloody gash in her stomach. Her pale creamy skin matched the white dress she was wearing. Her hair rippled in dark waves, she was nearly translucent. The ghostly women vanished into thin air, after the sound of footsteps going up the stairs was heard. Soon another apparition appeared. It had crimson eyes, and a large horn in the center of its forehead. "Leave now!" it growled. "eep!" Keiko hid behind Yusuke. The ghostly demon's hand began to glow, soon after a ball of spirit energy was sent hurdling at them. Everyone managed to get out of the way in time , luckily there were no innocents in site.

Cheza looked back to the top of the stairs, the apparition had vanished. "what the hell was that about!" Yusuke shouted. "I have heard this place is haunted…a couple was murdered here…Im guessing that demon had something to do with their deaths.." Kurama replied. Yusuke started walking up the stairs, Keiko started to protest..but she followed him anyways, "come on we gotta help that ghost lady out".

After reaching the top of the stairs, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No sign of any ghosts..no sign of the demon either. "BOO!" everyone jumped, a familiar giggle was heard. "Damn it Boton!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"I couldn't resist!"

"Boton, what are you doing here?" Keiko asked. "well…I'm working on a case…you havent happened to see any ghosts around?"

"Actually, yes... we have" Kurama answered. "I'm supposed to lead a women who was murdered here to spirit world..her husband has already crossed over.."

"that freakin demon that attacked us is probably keeping her from crossing over" Yusuke remarked.

"demon…well I'll just have to teach that demon a lesson! You know Koenma's party is in an hour..you guys should go get ready!" Keiko stared up to the top of the stairs, "what about the demon?..and that girl?". "Don't worry, I deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis! Now shoo! I'll meet you guys at the party!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"So..are you and Kurama…together now? Sorry..Im not trying to be nosey..but I think you two would make such a cute couple!" Keiko exclaimed. "heh..we umm… "

The two were putting their costumes on in her/yusuke's room. Keiko had on a short black skirt, and a yellow/ black striped top..a pair of wings on her back. She was going as a bumblebee. Cheza had on a short black skirt as well, and a red top with black dots all over it..she had a black pair of wings on…she was going as a ladybug. "I hate wearing freakin suits!" Yusuke grumbled as he walked into the bedroom alongside Kurama. Yusuke had a traditional suit on, while Kurama had a light blue one on. "you look beautiful" Kurama commented as his gaze fell upon Cheza. She blushed, "thank you…you don't look so bad yourself!".

"Ready to go?" Yusuke asked. Keiko glared at the spirit detective, "Yusuke, isn't there something you want to say to me!" Yusuke blinked, "no…not that I can think of…"

"Yusuke you jerk! " she shouted before storming out of the apartment. Yusuke had a confused look on his face, "what the hell did I do!"

"Your supposed to tell her how pretty she looks! Duh!" Cheza exclaimed.

/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"This is one hell of a party!" Yusuke exclaimed. There were at least 1000 people/ghosts/ogres..even a few demons dancing and such. The lights were dimmed down, a bar could be seen far off in the corner of the room. "Hey, batmans here!" Yusuke said pointing towards the bar. Cheza looked over to see Kuronue hitting on a waitress, he was already drunk out of his mind. Kurama chuckled, "even after all these years hes still the same old Kuronue". Kuronue turned sensing Kurama's spirt energy, "yo!"he exclaimed with a big grin. He staggered to his feet making his way over to the gang. "Hello Kuronue" Kurama greeted him with a smile. He looked down noticing Kurama was holding Cheza's hand, he didn't say anything but his goofy grin vanished from his face. "hey guys over here!" Everyone turned to see Boton motioning for them to join her, Koenma, Kuwabara, and Yukina at a table in the far corner of the room.

"Hey binki-breath whats up!" Yusuke wise-cracked. Koenma was now in his teen form, he sighed heavily, "do you always have to insult me!"

After chatting away for a few hours, the couples began to hit the dance floor.

Boton jolted out of her seat "Koenma…lets dance!" she exclaimed. "err..I'm not much of a dancer…"

"oh come on! It'll be fun!" she urged. "I don't know…" Before he could contemplate any further Boton took hold of his arm and dragged him towards the dance floor. "Yusuke…" Yusuke looked over at Keiko, he knew what she was getting at. He sighed in defeat, "Keiko..would you like to dance ?". Keiko smiled and got to her feet. "Yukina my love! Would you like to dance!" Kuwabara said offering his hand for Yukina to take. She giggled and took his hand. Soon all who was left was Kurama and Cheza, Kuronue had walked back over to the bar. "Cheza..would you like to dance?" Kurama asked.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza rested her head against Kurama's shoulder, the familiar scent of roses flooding her senses. Everything felt so serene, she felt safe..happy. A slow song was playing, every couple seemed to be in their own little world. ."Cheza…"

Cheza looked up staring into Kurama's emerald orbs, she could feel her cheeks burning and her heart racing with anticipation. Kurama's hand caressed her cheek, he gently lifted her chin and drew her lips closer to his…

This kiss was different than their first, she was taken aback at how intense it felt. Soon they were both burning with desire... his tongue penetrated her mouth as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Everything around them faded out of view, nothing else mattered at that moment…

Hesitantly he pulled his lips away from hers and stared into her icy blue pools. This was the night the fox came to realize he wanted Cheza to be his…


	18. Chapter 18

"I saw you two kissing last night!" Keiko exclaimed. "ohhhh you two are so adorable together!" Boton squealed. " I can tell Kurama really likes you" Yukina interjected. The girls had invited Cheza to go shopping with them, the four were now at Master Genkai's chatting away. "So..what was the kiss like?" Keiko asked. All eyes were on Cheza "well..umm..it.. hes a great kisser" Cheza responded, a tinge of red appearing on her cheeks. The girls giggled, "YUKINA MY LOVE!" The door swung open revealing Kuwabara, Kurama and Yusuke. "Hello Kazuma" Yukina greeted with a smile. "I have a question to ask you!...will you go with me to…the carnival tonight!" Yukina smiled sweetly, "I would love to"

"Alright!" Kuwabara exclaimed a big goofy grin appearing on his face. "I figured we might as well go too" Yusuke said staring over at Keiko. Keiko smiled, "sounds like a plan!"

"Hey Dimwit! Training starts now!" Genkai yelled from the kitchen. "grouchy old hag" Yusuke grumbled

before walking into the kitchen. "I'll see you tonight Yukina!" Kuwabara exclaimed before following his gel haired friend into the kitchen. Kurama stayed behind, "Cheza, may I speak with you alone for a moment"

Boton winked at Cheza, "We'll be in the kitchen making lunch!". The girls cleared out leaving the fox and Cheza standing by themselves. "I wanted to ask you if you would accompany me to the carnival …and…I wanted to…give you something." Cheza watched as Kurama rummaged through his pocket pulling out a dark blue velvet box "I saw this and…well it reminded me of you..." Kurama opened the box to reveal a sapphire pendant, ..it matched the color of Cheza's eyes perfectly. "Thank you…its beautiful!" Cheza exclaimed..still a bit shocked he had given her something that had to have put a dent in his wallet.

"I don't want you to think Im coming on to strong…I…"

"HEY FOX BOY YOU COMIN OR WHAT!" Yusuke yelled from the kitchen. "Coming!" Kurama replied.

Kurama removed the pendant from the box, "may I?" he asked. Cheza nodded and Kurama placed the pendant around Cheza's neck. "It looks beautiful on you" Kurama stated with a warm smile. "ANY DAY NOW!" Yusuke shouted. I better get going..I'll see you tonight!" Kurama commented before walking off into the kitchen.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Keiko's eye twitched in annoyance. Yusuke and Kuwabara were eating funnel cake like pigs…and yes people were staring. Yusuke had powder all over his face..Kuwabara even had some in his hair. "Yusuke! where are your manners!" Keiko yelled. Yusuke said something but his mouth was so full no one understood what he said. Yukina giggled, "Kazuma you have powder in your hair".

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Hey Kurama! I bet I can beat you!" Yusuke was standing in front of a stand with "ring toss" written in faded yellow letters. Kuwabara and Yukina left to go on the ferris wheel, so Cheza walked over to chat with Keiko while the boys played the game. " Did Kurama give you that?" Keiko asked pointing towards the blue pendant around Cheza's neck. " isnt it beautiful!" Cheza exclaimed. Keiko nodded, " I wish Yusuke would be romantic like that!" "DAMN!" Yusuke exclaimed. Cheza and Keiko looked over to see Kurama now holding a giant stuffed Scooby-doo..obviously Kurama had won the game. Kurama smiled and walked over to Cheza, "I won you a giant scooby doo". Cheza blushed, before she could reply Yusuke blurted " that stuffed animal is bigger than Hiei!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Are you hungry?..can I get you anything?" Kurama asked. Cheza shook her head no, "Lets go on the ferris wheel! I bet the view is amazing!" Kurama chuckled, "I'm sure it is..lets go". Yusuke started making kissing noises, "you two love birds be careful!" Keiko smacked him in the head, "we'll meet up with you at the front entrance." "Come on Urameshi lets find a game to play! I want to win something for Yukina!". The others took off leaving the "love birds" behind. Cheza looked off in the distance to see the colorfully illuminated ferris wheel, "come on!" she exclaimed taking off in the direction of it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza was in awe as the Ferris wheel slowly ascended to its highest peak. The crowd below her now looked like an army of ants. The night sky glistened with the many stars twinkling above. She noticed Kurama was staring at her from the corner of her eye, she looked over at him and smiled. "This is such a pretty site!" she exclaimed. Kurama returned the smile, "yes..it is".

Cheza had noticed Kurama was fidgeting a lot, the fox looked as if something was bothering him.  
"Are you okay?...are you scared of heights or something?" Cheza asked.

"No, Im fine..really" he gave her a reassuring smile then squeezed her hand. He placed his arm around her and stared up at the night sky. Silence encompassed the two..but Kurama soon broke it.

"Cheza…I…" Cheza could tell Kurama was really nervous, *he must be afraid of heights…* she thought.

"will you be..my girlfriend?" Cheza's eyes widened a bit, she was caught off guard. She had to admit he would so be the perfect boyfriend. "HELP!" screamed a women's voice from down below. Cheza looked down spotting a huge bear towering over a defenseless women, a baby in her arms.

Kurama scanned the carnival grounds, Yusuke and Kuwabara were running towards the bear..they were quite a ways away though. "why is there a bear here!" Kurama's eyes narrowed, "a shape shifter demon". There was nothing the two could do but wait for the ride to end..it was all up to Kuwabara and Yusuke. Something shiny whizzed by the women hitting the bear in the chest. Cheza quickly realized Kuronue's scythe is what hit the demon. The women took off running, leaving the bear and the bat to battle. A crowd watched from afar, while others took off running for safety. Kuronue hurled a giant purple ball of spirit energy at the shape shifter…and well..that was it..the bear went bye bye. "Wow..that was a really weak demon!" Cheza exclaimed. Kurama nodded, "yes..but it could easily kill an ordinary human".

"I wonder why Kuronue is here…I mean..I think people would find it odd to see a real life bat man!"

"Im not sure..he must have been nearby and sensed the shape shifter" Kurama replied. Cheza watched as Kuronue began to flap his wings, "He's going to fly off in front of all those people!" Before he took to the skies Yusuke and Kuwabara finally made it to the site of the attack. Cheza couldn't understand what they were saying to Kuronue, but as the ferris wheel came back down and came to a halt Kuroune's yelling could be heard. A little kid was tugging on his wings saying "no way those are real!".

"Scram! Little man before I eat you!" an evil grin appeared on Kuronue's face, his fangs became visable. "MOMMY!" the little kid screamed taking off as fast as his little legs would carry him. "Yo fox boy! Binki-breath needs to speak with me and Kuwabara were gonna take off.."

"Yusuke!" Keiko and Yukina appeared from around a corner, panting heavily. "Oh yeah..I forgot about you..err..Koenma needs to speak with me..Im gonna have to bail".

"You forgot about me! YUSUKE YOU JACKA…"

"I'll escort you two home" Kuronue interrupted. "I'll walk home myself!" Keiko snarled while storming off, flames flaring in her eyes. "Im sorry I cant walk you home Yukina, I promise I'll make it up to you!" Kuwabara declared. "Its okay Kazuma..I understand.. Mr. Kuronue could you please walk me home?" Kuronue nodded, "sure thing!".

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza decided to take Alice on a walk once she reached her apartment, Kurama tagged along.

"I've come to realize…I don't know that much about you..lets play the 20 questions game." Kurama said."okay..you go first" Cheza replied.

"do your parents live here? Do you have Siblings?"

"My mom disappeared..I don't know if shes alive or not and my dad..well..I don't like talking about him and…no Im an only child"

"Im sorry about your mother…"

"Don't be..so its my turn right?"

Kurama nodded, "yes".

"okay…Ive been kinda curious about this..how old are you?"

Kurama seemed lost in thought for a moment, " in the 3000 range"(Im not sure if that's correct :/)

"3000 years old! No way!"

"My turn…"What's… your best memory of us?"

Cheza smiled, "I'd defiantly have to say the Halloween party"

The two stared into each others eyes, "how… would you describe me..using only one word?"Cheza asked.

The two continued to stare into each others eyes, "beautiful" Kurama replied. The two moved closer and closer together, Kurama's lips pressed against Cheza's and once again their tongues intertwined. "WOOF WOOF WOOF!" The two pulled away spotting Alice chasing a raccoon around.

Cheza sighed, "I better go catch her before the raccoon retaliates!" Cheza took off after Alice, soon she got a hold of her and walked over to a park bench Kurama was now sitting at. Cheza sat down and the two remained silent for awhile. Out of nowhere Cheza said the word"yes".

"Kurama gave her a questioning look, "yes?".

Their eyes locked, "yes..I will be your girlfriend."


	19. Chapter 19

Cheza opened up her apartment door only to be greeted by a blast of cold air. Snow had been falling the past couple weeks, Alice loved it. Cheza had no desire to go out, but she needed to make a trip to the grocery store. Zipping up her winter coat and slipping her gloves on she walked outside alongside Alice to see Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kuronue having a snowball fight. Snowballs were raining down on them after Kuronue took flight. Yusuke threw one with all his might towards the sky, he managed to hit Kuronue square in the face. "HAHAHA Take that bat-man!". Alice barked excitedly and ran down the steps leading to the apartments. Yusuke looked over just in time to see Alice tackle him to the ground, "Hey Cheza!" Kuwabara greeted. Kuronue landed on the frosty ground next to her as Yusuke got back to his feet." where are you going? To see your sweetheart Kurama!" he teased. Kuronue was staring at her intently, she couldn't explain why…but she was getting a bad vibe from him. "actually Im going to the store! "

"well stop by my place when you get back, we got a new videogame and need an extra player" Yusuke stated. Cheza nodded, "okay..see ya guys later!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza and Alice came upon a frozen lake, a little girl no older than 7 was sitting in the center of it crying. It became clear to Cheza that the girl had been ice skating and had fallen and hurt herself. "Wait here" Cheza ordered. Alice waited patiently as Cheza walked across the lake and to the little girls side. "Are you okay?" she asked. The little girl wiped a few tears from her eyes, "I hurt my ankle". "..get on my back I'll give you a piggy-back ride..you know how to get to your house, right?" The little girl nodded and pointed towards an apartment complex off in the distance. After the little girl climbed onto Cheza's back, Cheza began to walk back towards Alice. The two were merely a foot away from solid ground when the sound of ice cracking flooded their ears. Cheza froze and stared down at the ground, it was splitting between her legs all the way up to where Alice stood waiting. Cheza knelt down, "Im going to slide you across the ice okay? " The little girl nodded and climbed off of Cheza's back. Cheza pushed the little girl with all her might and she slid across the frozen lake and stopped right at Alice's feet. Alice took hold of the little girls hood and dragged her off of the frozen water, aware that the ice was fixing to break underneath her. Cheza didn't want to risk the little girl falling through, she figured she would make it across if she pushed her since she was so light. Cheza decided to make a run for it as the ice began to crack more and more. She had almost made it to Alice when the ice below her split apart, she instantly felt the breath being taken out of her as she fell into the frigid depths of the water. The little girl screamed and Alice began to bark.

Kurama was making his way to the store to pick up some supplies for his mother when he heard the commotion, he followed the sound of Alice's barking and the little girls screaming until he came upon them. Kurama stared at the little girl then to his surprise he noticed Alice..

His eyes wandered to the frozen lake, it was evident someone had fallen through.

His eyes widened as he realized what had happened. He took his coat off then without hesitation he dived into the icy water, he instantly spotted Cheza. He put his arms around her waist then proceeded to swim to the surface. They both gasped for air once they made it. Kurama managed to get Cheza onto solid ground before clambering out of the water himself.

"are you two okay! " the little girl asked while tugging on the hood to Cheza's coat. Alice began to wine as she nudged her frozen master's cheek. Kurama paid no attention to the fact he himself was nearly frozen. He quickly ran to Cheza's side, she was shivering and her teeth were clattering together. "Here mister.." the little girl handed Kurama his coat then stared at Cheza with worried eyes. "Cheza you need to remove your clothes…they are sucking the warmth out of you…"

Cheza was still in panic mode, and her limbs were not cooperating with her…her whole body was numb.

Kurama stripped down to just a pair of boxers, before helping Cheza remove her coat. "are you able to remove the rest of your clothing?" Cheza clinched her fist and slowly tried to move her arm, "yeah..I think so…but…umm..I really rather not walk home naked"

Kurama handed her his coat, "This should cover most of you up..it is not wise to keep your wet clothes on". Cheza began to remove her clothes as Kurama inspected the little girls ankle. The coat did end up covering most of her body..just her knees and below were exposed to the cold. The familiar scent of roses lingered on the coat, she couldn't explain why but she felt safe inside it.

" My house is only a few blocks away.. we should hurry there" Kurama stated. Cheza nodded ,"what about the little girl.."

"I'll come with you! You can take me home after you've warmed up!" she said while getting onto Alice's back…Alice didn't seem to mind playing the role of a horse.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After explaining to his mother what had happened she quickly prepared a warm bath for Cheza, while Kurama prepared his own. Cheza had never met Kurama's mother before, but she seemed to know just about everything about her. "Cheza, follow me" she said while walking towards her bedroom. She hurriedly lead her to the bathroom, "I'll take your wet clothes and put them in the dryer… I'll be sure to set something out for you to wear on my bed for the time being". She smiled then shut the door to the bathroom so Cheza could have her privacy.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza peaked her head out from the bathroom to make sure no one was around. Just as Shiori had said, a pair of clothes was laying out on the bed. A much needed sweater and a pair of sweats. After getting dressed she walked out of the bedroom, Kurama must've been waiting for her because he popped out of nowhere the instant she walked out "feeling warmer?" he asked with a smile. "yes…Thank you..for saving me" Kurama stared into her eyes, "I will always protect you". Cheza felt butterflies in her stomach as his hand caressed her cheek. The two had been dating over 2 weeks now, they had began to develop a strong bond with each other.

"WE GOT A DOG! OH COOL!...hey whose the little girl?" Kurama's little bro could be heard from the other room along with Alice's tail thumping against the wall. "Well…now that you're here I can formally introduce you to my family.." Kurama took Cheza's hand, guiding her to the living where his mother and brother were. His brother was the first to notice the two, "So this is your girlfriend? I gotta hand it to ya bro you picked a hottie!" Kurama began to turn red as Shiori scolded Kokoda, telling him to be respectful. "I have to pick your father up from his business trip tonight..so Im going to go ahead and make dinner…Kokoda why don't you walk Hikari home in the meantime" Cheza figured the little girl is who she was referring to. "But…" "No buts!" Shiori exclaimed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Goodbye mother" Kurama and Kokoda said in unison. Shiori had informed them she would be back a little after midnight. "Can I go hang out with my friends for awhile?" Kokoda asked his step-brother with pleading eyes. " I don't see why not…just be careful.." he replied. Kurama turned to face Cheza,

"your clothes should be dry by now…but if you don't mind I'd like it if you stayed for a while longer…" Cheza nodded, "I'd love too". Kurama took hold of Cheza's hand and lead her to the living room.

"would you like to watch a movie?" "sure" Cheza sat down on the couch as Kurama proceeded to flip through the channels looking for a good movie to watch. "Ahah I think you will like this one" he said with a smile. Half way through the movie the couple found themselves cuddling under a blanket for warmth. Cheza loved how strong his arms felt wrapped around her..and how everything seemed to melt away when he kissed her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kurama had walked Cheza home after the movie, now she was heading off for the grocery store. This time, she was defiantly avoiding walking over any frozen lakes. She decided to let Alice roam around outside her apartment while she walked to the store, it was only 10 minutes away. She replayed the night's events in her head over and over. Kurama had walked her to her door, she could tell he hadn't wanted to leave her. They had embraced in a long kiss before parting ways, every moment spent with him was magical.

After going to the grocery store Cheza had put up all the grocerys and walked back outside to go find Alice. "Alice!"

Silence… all that could be heard was Yusuke's tv blaring off in the distance. She had an eerie feeling someone was watching her, she quickly spun around. Confirming her suspicions she spotted Kuronue "you scared me!..have you seen Alice?" Kuronue said not a word, he grabbed ahold of Cheza's wrist.

"Kuronue..what…what are you doing!" she asked. That uneasy feeling she was getting from him earlier had returned. She could smell alchohol on his breath, as well as the familiar stench she had smelled in demon world. The grip on her wrist tightened, "Let go..your hurting me!" she said a bit of panic in her voice. Her heart began to race as she stared into his eyes, they were cold..dark…empty.A sharp pain emitted from her head..she soon found herself on the brink of unconsciousness. Darkness flooded her site… when she awoke again, only minutes later, she found herself laying on her bed.

She groaned and placed her hand atop her head, meeting with a warm liquid…she soon realized it was blood. Cheza quickly stumbled out of the bed and looked around the room, Kuronue was glaring at her from the doorway. She glanced towards the bathroom..if she could make it there in time she could escape through the window and yell for Yusuke. She sprinted towards the bathroom, but she didn't make it. Kuronue slammed her into the floor, " going somewhere?"

What the hell was going on! Was Kuronue possessed or something! He had never acted like a typical demon before…he was actually a nice guy..demon..or at least she thought so. "Kuronue! What..are you doing!". He didnt respond..

He began to rip her clothes off, It soon became apparent what he was planning to do. As he struggled to take her pants off she kicked him as hard as she could. It was enough to knock him over…she ran to the bathroom and slammed the door shut..making sure to lock it. She turned on the light and examined herself in the mirror, half her face was covered in blood and her shirt was torn, exposing part of her bra. She soon bolted for the window as she heard him slamming against the door. She managed to get it open and climb out. She was now in front of the apartment stairs, struggling to keep her breathing under control. Her heart sunk as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her but as she looked up she found herself staring into emerald orbs. A look of shock was plastered on the foxes face..it was soon replaced with anger.

He ran to her side to assess the damage that had been done, "who did this" he asked anger rising in his voice. "You left me to die Kurama..now its time to return the favor". He quickly averted his gaze to see Kuronue, scythes in hand. A hurt look filled Kurama's eyes, "Kuronue..you did this?"

"he must be possessed or something!" Cheza exclaimed. Kurama stood up staring straight into Kuronue's eyes, "no..". He knew what was causing him to act this way..he was not possessed..

Bringing back someone from the dead always had consequences.. the person doesnt always come back the same.. The stench of a rotting corpse, very much similar to the smell in demon world, had caught the foxes attention a couple days ago. He had smelled the foul odor all over Kuronue, he wasn't sure what to make of it until now.

Kuronue was beginning to change. Long ago Kurama had witnessed a resurrection..an old dog demon was trying to bring back his wife…it worked..but over time her demeanor began to change. She went from being herself…to a horrific creature..in the end she killed her husband and then herself.

Kurama suspected this was happening to Kuronue. But what caused such a dramatic personality change? Well..it's similar to a spirit beast egg. A spirit beast feeds off its owners energy and takes its form based on the nature of the energy. If the owner is good, the creature inside it would reflect the owner. If the owner is bad, the bad energy would turn the creature inside the egg evil. It would hatch and the beast would eat the owner. Kuronue does not have a spirit beast egg..but he does have a soul ,an unstable one at that. It takes about a year for a soul to fully stabilize, and depending on his emotions he can either remain how he was before he died or he can turn evil. The bitterness he felt towards Kurama was turning him towards the latter. Deep down Kuronue felt betrayed…betrayed because he felt Kurama had stabbed him in the back and taken away Cheza from him..betrayed because Kurama had left him to die…he knew there was nothing Kurama could have done for him..but still the feeling of betrayl lingered. He had told him to run..but deep down he hadn't wanted him to.

Kurama pulled a rose from his hair, "Kuronue…are you sure you want to do this?"

Kuronue began to flood his spirit energy into his scythe, " am I sure? You tell me" One of Kuronue's scythes whizzed past his old partner in crime..missing him by mere inches. "Does that answer you question?"


	20. Chapter 20

Cheza watched onward as the battle unfolded. Kuronue sent a blast of energy Kurama's way, but he dodged with ease. Kurama was not attacking Kuronue...and it was angering the bat. "Fight back!" he growled. Kuronue lunged with his scythe, slashing into Kurama's shoulder. Cheza averted her gaze from the fight after hearing a familiar voice. "What the hell is going on out there!". It was Yusuke. He opened his apartment door, one of Kuronue's scythes whizzed by him, lodging itself in it "Jeese!". Keiko stuck her head out from the door, along with Alice. "Alice!" Cheza exclaimed. Keiko looked down spotting cheza, "oh my gosh! What happened to you!" Kuronue and Kurama had jumped off the balcony and were now fighting by the outskirts of the creepy forest near the apartments. Alice began to wine as Yusuke watched the two friends go at it. "Im okay..dont worry about me" Cheza assured. Yusuke tore his eyes off the fight and turned to Cheza, "why are they fighting?". "I..I don't really know…I went outside to look for Alice..and..Kuronue…attacked me…somethings wrong with him! Hes not himself!"

Yusuke crossed his arms, " Kurama isn't fighting back..hes gonna get himself killed!". Everyone turned their attention back to the fight , "Im gonna have to go help him if he doesn't do something soon!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Hiei watched in a tree from afar, his fist clinched in anger. Why wasn't the fox fighting back! If he wouldn't kill the bat..then he would take matters into his own hands. No…he had a better idea. As much as he disliked the bat..he disliked seeing his friend in pain even more. He would never admit it but Kurama was sort of like a best friend to him. He knew the bat meant a lot to his fox friend…and he also knew a way to save him. He vanished in a black blur..hoping he would be back in time before too much damage had been done.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Hiei turned into a dark alley, his destination only minutes away. "Well well look what we got here..hand over your cash and I wont kick your ass!" Hiei narrowed his eyes, glaring daggers at three men in front of him. They emerged from the shadows, one was holding a bat, the other a knife..and the third was cracking his knuckles. The three exchanged glances…they appeared hesitant to fight the little fire demon after seeing the pissed off look on his face. In a flash Hiei had knocked the guy with the bat out, the other two guys began to panic, "st..sta…stay away from me you freak!" Hiei lunged forward slamming the guy with the knife into a trashcan. A raccoon appeared from the fallen trashcan and proceeded to charge at the third guy. It attached itself to his face, he was screaming like a little girl. The racket had awoken people in the apartments nearby, dogs were barking..it was utter pandemonium. Hiei simply shoved his hands into his pockets and continued to walk deeper into the ally, as the guy continued to scream and the raccoon continued to attack. "Chaos..panic..and disorder..my work here is done" Hiei remarked. He soon approached a brick wall…he placed his hand on it..it went right through. The wall was a portal that lead to a very old psychic demon's home. He entered and soon found himself standing inside the psychic's living room . "Hello Hiei…I've been expecting you. He turned, his crimson orbs falling upon an old woman with long gray hair. "Then I assume you know why I am here" she nodded, "yes…follow me"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kurama's vision was beginning to blur, he was growing weaker by the second. He collapsed to the ground, "Kuronue..please I don't want to fight you". Kuronue showed no compassion for his friend whatsoever, "That's it! Im gonna have to step in! Kurama doesn't have the heart to hurt him" Yusuke exclaimed averting his gaze to Keiko. "Wait Yusuke..look". An eerie mist began to engulf Kurama, Cheza knew what this meant. He was transforming into the infamous Yoko, Kurama. The mist soon faded and there stood Yoko, his golden orbs locked onto his old partner in crime. "You must stop this sensless act Kuronue! There's nothing I could have done to prevent your death!" Kuronue seemed to grow even angrier after seeing Yoko, he flooded spirit energy into one of his scythes and went on the offense. Yoko dodged every attack with ease, he had always been much stronger and faster than Kuronue. Kuronue threw a left hook at Yoko, but Yoko caught it in his hand. "You will not win this fight, think about what youre doing!"

Kuronue didn't listen…once again he lunged forward and attempted to strike his silver haired friend. This time the fox fought back. His fist slammed into Kuronue's jaw sending him slamming into the ground. "You've left me no choice" Kuronue quickly got to his feet and sent a blast of energy at the fox. He evaded the attack and pulled a rose from his hair. The rose transformed into his notorious rose whip. "Detective". Yusuke averted his gaze from Kurama to see Hiei standing beside him. Hiei had startled him a bit, "Ya know I hate it when you pop up out of nowhere!" Hiei ignored his remark, "I have found a way to save the bat..but it will require your assistance"

"Alright, what do you need me to do". Hiei unsheathed an ancient looking sword, the hilt had strange symbols engraved in it. "I need you to distract the fox..he will try to stop me". Hiei disappeared in flash, soon appearing in front of Kuronue. Yusuke ran down the apartment stairs and over to Yoko. Hiei lunged forward at Kuronue with the sword, sure enough, Yoko tried to stop him. Yusuke tackled the fox to the ground as Hiei plunged the sword into Kuronue's chest. He quickly pulled it out and Kuronue fell to the ground lifeless. "KURONUE!" Yoko yelled. Yoko ran over to his friend's lifeless body, painfilled memories of his previous death flooding his mind. "No…you cant be dead..not again" Yoko grabbed Kuronue's shirt and proceeded to shake him, "wake up damnit!"

Yusuke looked over at Hiei, "I thought you said you found a way to save him!" Hiei continued to stare at Yoko, not responding to Yusuke's comment. A few minutes passed, Yoko got to his feet. His golden orbs shadowed by his bangs. Cheza ran down the stairs and to his side, "Im sorry" she whispered. He remained silent..everyone did. "Look" Hiei pointed towards Kuronue. Everyone turned their attention to Kuronue's limp form. A weird purple orb was hovering over him…it soon began to take form. A pair of wings emerged on each side of the orb, a mouth…bat ears..and a big pair of indigo eyes appeared soon after. "uhh…Hiei what did you do to Kuronue!"

"It's the bat's spirit beast baka" Hiei replied. "Spirit beast? That doesn't make any sense..how…"

"The sword.." Yoko interrupted turning his attention to it. " When cut by that sword..it doesn't kill you..it…heals you"

"uhh…no offense..by Kuronue looks pretty dead to me" Yusuke commented.

"The sword forced the bad energy out of him which transformed into his spirit beast thus stabilizing his soul….." Hiei explained. "so the little guy is the evil in Kuronue? Its not going to devour him..us is it?". "no you fool! It didn't hatch from an egg!" Hiei retorted. Yusuke went to pet the mini bat, "he doesn't look evil at all". The bat latched onto Yusuke's finger, "oww! Get off my finger you little bastard!" The bat growled then began to shake his finger violently. A groan escaped Kuronue's mouth as he slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. "what the….what happened! Am I drunk?" His indigo orbs met with the spirit-beasts, "what the hell are you supposed to be!". "Your spirit beast apparently…" Yusuke stated. "spirit beast?"

"You remember Puu, hes my spirit beast….this is yours". Kuronue had a confused look on his face, "I never had an egg and…". "Doesn't make sense to me either..but screw it! Your alive and you seem to be back to your old self! that's what matters right?" Yusuke interupted. "Back to my old self?" Kuronue's eyes met with Yoko's…he quickly noted Yoko had a deep wound on his shoulder…the bat looked down to his chest to see his clothes blood soaked. "Did I….." A sad look fell upon his features after he spotted Cheza, "I…caused all this?"

Yoko placed a hand on his shoulder, "its alright Kuro..you weren't yourself…"

\/\/\/\/\/

The night had come and gone. Kuronue had stayed the night at Kuramas.

Cheza was awoken to the sound of something banging against the wall in the vacant apartment next door. Her eyes widened a bit..she hoped it wasn't a demon. "WOOF!" Alice was barking at the wall, Cheza decided to investigate. She quietly crept to her front door and silently unlocked it . She stuck her head out and saw the apartment door next to her wide open. Hesitantly she stepped outside and peered into the vacant room….


	21. Chapter 21

Cheza was awoken to the sound of something banging against the wall in the vacant apartment next door. Her eyes widened a bit..she hoped it wasn't a demon. "WOOF!" Alice was barking at the wall, Cheza decided to investigate. She quietly crept to her front door and silently unlocked it . She stuck her head out and saw the apartment door next to her wide open. Hesitantly she stepped outside and peered into the vacant room….

/\/\/\/\

Cheza's heart began to race as she stared into a familiar pair of pale blue eyes. A woman with long curly blonde hair in her late 30's smiled up at her. "Its been awhile, hasn't it?"

Alice wagged her tail excitedly, remembering who the woman was. She happily trotted over to her…she passed right through her "mom…you….your…" she didn't want to finish the sentence. "Dead…yes..I have come here to warn you of your father..he kept a secret from us Cheza…"

Her heart sank, she had always hoped to find her mother one day..alive and happy. She had up and disappeared one day…she always had the suspicion she left to get away from her father…but now she knew the truth..she had died. Her mother continued to speak, "your father is a bounty hunter Cheza..he killed many demons and humans alike…" Cheza's eyes widened, "you…you know about demons?" The woman nodded, " I know many things..there is something else I have to tell you…it's about the spirit fox..your father was the one that nearly killed him and forced him to take refuge here in human world…" This was all to much for Cheza to take in, her mother was dead..and her father..was an evil bounty hunter that nearly killed her boyfriend!

"is…he a demon? I mean…that was a really long time ago..if he was human..how could he possibly still be alive?" Her mother got to her feet, " He has some sort of jewel in his possession that keeps him youthful.." Cheza frowned after another question popped into her head..she wasn't sure if she wanted this particular question answered. "Mom…how…did you die?". A sad look fell upon her mother's features, "your father..murdered me". Cheza felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she didn't know what to say…tears began to fall. " She placed a hand on her shoulder, although, Cheza couldn't feel it. "My time here is short…so listen to me. Your father has come upon an ancient artifact that will turn him into the most powerful demon in existence..but in order for it to work he needs your blood..beware he will send his minions after you..and if all else fails he will come for you himself…" Her mother began to fade, "goodbye Cheza". "NO! DON'T GO!" She yelled..but her mother was gone.

Yusuke and Kuwabara were walking up the steps heading towards the apartments when they heard Cheza yelling. They quickly came to her aid to see her holding onto Alice sobbing. "Cheza whats wrong!" She didn't want anyone to see her like this..she got to her feet and ran past them, Alice followed close behind. " Man..I hate seeing girls cry!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "Kurama will be here soon..I think we should tell him to go find out whats wrong with her". Kuwabara nodded, "yeah..good idea…by the way..did you sense a spirit..I would have swore I did…" Yusuke nodded, "yeah..I thought I did too".

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza came to a clearing in the forest by the apartments. She needed time to contemplate, what was she going to do? She felt sad…angry..so many emotions all at once. She clinched her fist in anger, tears still streaming from her eyes. How dare he take away her mother..she would make him pay. Alice began to growl, Cheza looked at her to see her teeth bared. "So you're Cheza..this will be a walk in the park!" She turned to see a man with spiky black hair and blue eyes staring at her. He had all sorts of weapons on his being, knives..a sword…a bow and arrow. ..you name it! She knew he had to be a bounty hunter that worked for..you guessed it, her father. He slowly walked over to her, then lifted her chin up and stared into her eyes. "aww whats wrong? Don't worry..I'll put you out of your misery soon" Alice was fixing to attack the guy when a black blur beat her to it. In less than 4 seconds Hiei had decapitated the man. His crimson orbs met with hers, " You should listen to your mother's warning..you would have died if I hadn't been here". Cheza fell to her knees, tears still forming in her eyes..she didn't say anything. Hiei's features softened, he felt bad for the girl. He was right..it was foolish to be alone in the woods with no protection. Alice came to Cheza's side and she buried her face in her fur..she didn't want to do anything. Hiei sheathed his katana and jumped into a tree above her, he decided to watch over her for the time being.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Yo fox boy!" Yusuke greeted as Kurama approached his apartment. Yusuke had seen Kurama coming and had opened the door just before he was fixing to knock on it. "Hello Yusuke..Kuwabara". "Hey Kuronue! You feeling better?" Kuwabara asked. Kuronue nodded, but didn't say anything. "Oh yeah Urameshi tell him about Cheza". Kurama's eyes widened, "what! is she okay! Where is she!". "Calm down! We were walking to my apartment when we heard her yelling..when we found her she was crying …we asked if she was okay ..she didn't answer, she just took off running into the woods". A worried look appeared on the foxes face, "when was this?". "A few hours…." Kurama had already ran out the door before Yusuke could finish his sentence, Kuronue too. "You search from the skies..I'll take off on foot" Kurama instructed his bat friend.

/\/\/\/\/\

Nightfall was approaching..it was already pretty dark out. Cheza had wandered off to the park to sit and think. Hiei had followed her, making sure to keep a close eye out for anything that would cause her harm. He had contacted Kurama telepathically informing him of Cheza's whereabouts, knowing he was looking for her. Cheza heard footsteps approaching her soon after, "Cheza". Kurama sat next to her on the park bench, he took his hand in hers. "Are you alright?" he asked. She didn't respond, Alice began to wine. "Cheza..please tell me..maybe I can help you". "You cant" she replied. The two sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity.

"I…talked to my mom today" Cheza stated, finally breaking the silence. "I believe you told me she had disappeared..I'm glad to hear shes alive and…" "She's dead" Cheza interrupted. She stood up, "She's dead..and my father is the one who killed her". Kurama stood up as well, embracing her in his arms. "Im sorry" he whispered into her ear.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kurama had insisted Cheza stay at his house for the night. She had informed him of the conversation she had with her mother..leaving out one detail. She wasn't ready to tell him that her father had been the one that nearly killed him. Now, the two were sleeping peacefully together in his bed. His mother had gone on vacation with his stepfather and Kokoda was spending the night at a friend's house. He had eased her pain a bit, she was grateful to have such a caring boyfriend. Many things needed to be done the next day. Kurama was planning on visiting Koenma to see what he knew of Cheza's father..one thing was for certain, there was no way in hell he was letting Cheza out of his sight.


	22. Chapter 22

"Aku Wakahisa…he's been around longer than you Kurama!" Koenma remarked. "Do you have any idea what artifact he holds in his possession?" Kurama asked. Koenma seemed lost in thought for a moment, "well…the only thing I can think of that matches your description is..err…I cant recall the name, but it's a round golden locket engraved with ancient demon writing…legend says it can transform any human into a demon..but in order for it to work..it requires blood from the owner's kin. "Cheza's blood…" Kurama muttered. "The thing is that locket has been lost for centuries…." . "Do you know how to locate Aku ?" Koenma shook his head, "no I do not..he disappeared soon after Cheza's mother perished..I do know he resides in demon world….but that's all I know".

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Cheza you cant! Just wait for Kurama to come back…" Kuronue exclaimed. She was stuffing her backpack with clothes, "No! I can't sit here and do nothing! He killed my mother!" Cheza retorted. Kuronue sighed, "And what do you plan to do if you find him? He's a bounty hunter! Your just a.."

Cheza glared daggers at the bat, "Shut it!" she interrupted. "Im coming with you then" he declared.

She slung the backpack over her shoulder, " Kurama will want to wait for him to come to us…but if we come to him….. we'll catch him off guard…". She opened her apartment door, and the four piled out. She decided to bring Alice along this time..and Kuronue..well he was coming on his own accord and his little spirit beast refused to be separated from the bat. For some odd reason his spirit beast liked to sit on Alice's back, Alice didn't mind, she actually liked the little guy.

/\\/\/\/\/\/\

"Cheza? Im back!" Kurama yelled at her front door. He had told her to lock it just to be safe, even though Kuronue was watching over her for him. Yusuke opened up his door and walked out, "She took off with bat man somewhere". "WHAT!"

The fox took off in search of Hiei, he would know where they were.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The foul stench of demon world flooded her nose, "I hate that smell…" Kuronue shrugged, "its not that bad". Alice had a disgusted look on her face, a dogs nose is waaaay more sensitive afterall. Kuronue took Cheza's hand in his as they began to walk into a forest she was familiar with, "Stay close to me..this is no place for a human". Cheza remembered walking in these woods with Kurama not that long ago, when they had gone to bring back Kuronue . "Do you even know where youre going?" the bat asked. "Well… Im not sure where to start looking for my..for Aku." She didn't want to call him father. "I have an idea…theres an old friend of mine that lives..well lived not to far from here he would probably know how to find him..although its been centuries since we spoke..he might not even be alive anymore".

"I guess it's a start" Cheza replied.

/\/\/\\/\/\/\

Hiei jumped down from the tree he was in, "Theyre in demon world". Kurama hadn't even asked him where they were yet, " demon…world?". His normally calm and pleasant demeanor instantly changed and his face contorted into consuming anger. His eyes flickered gold, and mist began to engulf him. Soon, Yoko appeared. In a silver blur he vanished for Hiei's site, it was pretty obvious where he was headed.

/\/\/\\/\

"whadda know! hes still alive and kickin!" Kuronue exclaimed. A ferocious looking demon dog was growling at them from behind a chain fence, Alice was growling right back. "How do you know he's alive?"Cheza asked. They had walked up to gigantic tree surrounded by a chain fence. A small door could be seen in the center of the tree, "he lives in there!" Kuronue smiled revealing his fangs, "yep! That there is tinkerbell his pet dog..I can sense his spirit energy..hes defiantly inside". Cheza stared at the hellhoud, "why the hell would he name that dog tinkerbell!" Kuronue shrugged, "I'll admit..hes kinda weird..but you'll like him!". Kuronue opened the gate and was fixing to walk in when Cheza spoke, "What are you doing! That dog will rip us to shreds!". Kuronue laughed, "Are we talking about the same dog here! He wouldn't hurt a fly!" Kuronue walked inside and the dog's tail began to wag excitedly, its whole demeanor changed. Cheza was hesitant to enter still, but she did along with Alice and Kuronue's little spirit beast. The dog ran over to Alice and began to sniff her, she swore "tinkerbell" was making googley eyes at Alice. Kuronue knocked on the door and soon footsteps could be heard. "Whose there!" demanded a deep voice. "Kuronue!" he replied. "This better not be some kind of joke! " Kuronue's mysterious friend began to unlock several locks on his door before opening it. His eyes widened and he looked like he had seen a ghost, "you…Kuronue it really is you! I thought…Yoko told me you died".

Cheza noted Kuronue's friend had an eerie similar appearance to Vegeta from dbz. Although there were differences, he was a fire demon like Hiei, and he was much taller than Vegeta. "whose the girl?" he asked looking over at Cheza. "Yoko's old lady" Kuronue replied. "He sure knows how to pick em! I wish I could get a girl like that!". Cheza was turning bright red at his comment. "So what brings you here?" his friend asked. "I need help locating a certain bounty hunter". His friend moved aside from the door, motioning for him to enter. "Well come on in and I'll see what I can do". The two entered, Alice stayed outside with "Tinkerbell" and Kuronue's spirit beast.

The fire demon sat down at a large wooden table in the kitchen part of the tree house. It was scattered with maps and such. "Whats this bounty hunter's name?" his friend asked. "Aku" Kuronue answered.

"Aku!" His eyes widened a bit, "you mean that son of a bitch that nearly killed Yoko!" Kuronue had a confused look on his face, "what?". " I overheard some demons talkin soon after Yoko dissapeared..they said a bounty hunter named Aku had badly injured him… and chased him into human world somewhere..no one knew if he had survived or not..but overtime stories began to surface that he had been spotted in human world." Kuronue clinched his fist, "so this guy was the one that nearly killed Yoko…." Cheza remained silent as Kuronue soaked in this new information. "Do you know where he is?" His friend nodded, "I've been keepin track of em …and I'm pretty sure I know where his hideout is". His friend rummaged through numerous maps before finding the one he was looking for. "Look, you see this map…I got this off of a thief." Kuronue studied the map, his indigo orbs stopping on the picture of an island floating above Makai. "That island is nearly impossible to get to..the only way is to head to the mountain of mythical creatures to find a griffin who is willing to take you there…but Im positive that's where he is". Kuronue and Cheza exchanged glances, "we'd have to take a train to get to the town closest to where the mountain is located….then it may take weeks to get to the top of it since you and Alice cant fly…"

"oh yeah..you can fly! Why cant you just fly to the island with me on your back?" Cheza asked. "he wouldn't be able to pass through the barrier that surrounds the island…only griffins seem to be able to pass..but I can help ya out and get ya to the top of the mountain within a day" Kuronue raised an eyebrow, "how?".The Vegeta look-alike stood up and walked over to one of his kitchen cabinets, "I have a potion the girl can take to turn her into a bat demon like yourself..its temporary of course..hell..I even have a potion that can turn that dog of yours into a bat demon too! then the three of you can fly to the top!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kuronue smirked, "you make a cute bat demon Cheza..and Alice you don't look half bad either!" Cheza snapped her wings out and began to flap them. She got about 10 feet off the ground before she went plummeting back to the earth, Kuronue caught her right before she hit the ground. "I'll have to teach you how to fly..its really not that hard". Alice had taken to the skies herself, she was flying all around like she had done it her whole life! "She's a natural!" Kuronue exclaimed. Kuronue proceeded to teach Cheza how to fly until nightfall had arrived. "well I guess we'll have to wait until morning to catch a train…the potion wont wear off for a couple more days so we don't have to worry about time" Cheza nodded, "where are we going to sleep?"

"There's an Inn close to the train station..I don't have any money..but its pretty easy to sneak into"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Morning had arrived and Cheza was now staring out the window of the train, it was slowly beginning to take off. She scanned the crowd of demons waiting for the next train, her eyes met with an all too familiar pair of golden orbs, "Kurama!" she exclaimed. Kuronue looked out the window to see Yoko staring at them with a bewildered look on his face. "I guess hes wondering why you're a bat demon now…" Before Kurama had a chance to do anything the train sped up and within a split second it was gone from his site. "what the hell! Why are we going so fast!what about Kurama!" Cheza exclaimed.

"It'll take about 20 minutes to reach the town were headed to..I'm sure Kurama we'll catch up with us..although Im not sure I want him too…" "What do you mean?" Cheza asked. "He's not going to be very happy with us…"


	23. Chapter 23

Kuronue was hacking a trail through the wooded area they were now walking through with his scythes. Once they made it through the underbrush they would be at the base of the mountain of mystical creatures. Alice's ears began to twitch as she picked up the sound of footsteps not too far away, Cheza and Kuronue hadn't seemed to notice yet. Alice began to growl to warn the two someone..or something was approaching. Needless to say, it caught their attention. Kuronue readied his scythes for battle, Cheza looked down to see Kuronue's spirit beast holding mini-scythes in hand as well. The footsteps were getting closer by the second, what appeared caught them off guard. "A..unicorn!" Cheza exclaimed. " we are pretty close to the mountain now.. it is called the mountain of mythical creatures afterall…". Cheza was fixing to walk over and pet the horse like creature, but it took off running like a bat out of hell…something had startled it, and that something was a very angry fox demon. Yoko appeared his arms crossed glaring at the two. "uh oh.." Cheza commented. "Uh oh is right kitten…" Yoko remarked. Yoko averted his gaze from Cheza to Kuronue, "Explain". Kuronue gave him as innocent of a look as possible, "explain what?". A loud screech flooded their ears, Cheza looked up just in time to see a large pair of talons coming right at her. Before anyone could react she was airborne, captured in the talons of what they had come to find…a griffin. Kuronue snapped his wings out as Yoko created his own wings from a variety of plant leaves and the two took off after the creature, Alice not far behind.

/\/\/\/\/\

The griffin had taken her to the top of the mountain and dropped her into a nest, filled with baby griffins. They were all nipping at her, eager to indulge in a human feast. The little creatures weren't able to tear into her flesh so they waited patiently for their mother to do the honors. The mother griffin made her way over to Cheza, she made a painful screeching noise every time her left paw touched the ground. She was fixing to strike when Cheza yelled, "WAIT!" The griffin stopped and stared at her with fierce eyes. "You…you have a thorn stuck in your foot…I can help you get it out". The griffin glanced down at her paw then back up at Cheza. She realized the griffin understood what she was saying as she turned her back on Cheza and lifted her back paw up, revealing a thorn. Hesitantly she reached her hand out and attempted to pull it out, it was stuck in there pretty deep. After a few pulls she managed to get it out. "Thank you". Cheza was taken aback as the creature spoke. "You..you can talk!" Cheza exclaimed. The griffin turned back around to face her, "I am eternally grateful..is there any way I can repay your kindness?". This was too perfect! She didn't even have to find a griffin..a griffin found her! and a griffin that would willingly take her to the island!

/\/\/\/\/\

"Cheza!", "Kitten!", "woof!" Cheza turned to see Kuronue,Yoko and Alice touch down about a foot away from her and the griffin. "Good news Kuronue! I found a griffin willing to take us to the island!" Cheza exclaimed. "If you think for a second I will allow you to…" Yoko was cutoff as Cheza said, "Im going whether you like it or not! Im not going to sit around and wait for my father to…"

In a silver blur Yoko was standing in front of her, "Kitten Im losing my patience.."

Kuronue flew over to the griffin and sat down on top of her back to watch the couple argue back and forth. "So am I! you cant tell me what to do! If I want to do something then I AM going to do it!". Yoko disappeared from Cheza's site, but she quickly realized he was now standing behind her when his arms wrapped around her waist, " this is no place for a little girl like you..I'm only trying to protect you kitten" he whispered into her ear. "I know you are..but this is something I have to do!" Cheza replied. "Come on Kurama I need some excitement in my life! besides…I'd think you'd want revenge on Aku after what that bastard did to you! I think its time for some long overdue payback!" Kuronue exclaimed. This caught the foxes attention, "what are you talking about?". Cheza gulped nervously..she wasn't sure what Yoko would do once he found out. Kuronue exchanged glances with Cheza, " I thought you knew…". Yoko' s eyes narrowed, "tell me now". An uneasy silence filled the air. Kuronue had found out through the Vegeta look alike that Aku had been the bounty hunter that nearly killed his partner in crime, but he had noticed Cheza didn't seemed shocked by the information..he figured her mother had already told her..so he figured she had told Yoko. " Aku is the whole reason youre now known as Shuichi". Yoko showed no emotion whatsoever, he understand what Kuronue meant by this…so why did he look so calm? "Youre sure taking this well…." Kuronue said a bit uneasily. Yoko picked Cheza up and jumped onto the griffin, "I take it you want to pay Aku a visit now?" Kuronue asked. " I've thought of countless ways to kill that bastard throughout the years…"Yoko muttered, he appeared to be pondering the most gruesome scenario he had come up with. An image of the foxes death tree came to Kuronue's mind. He knew he was planning on using it…he remembered the first unlucky soul to cross paths with that carnivorous tree. Right before his very eyes he watched a bounty hunter scream in agony as the tree's numerous mouths had ripped into him..melting his flesh and then his bones…it was as if acid had been poured onto him. He had made a mental note right then and there to never piss off the fox.

"Hold on tight" the griffin warned as her wings began to flap. Yoko put his arms around Cheza's waist, "don't worry kitten I wont let you fall".

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The griffin soared through the skies, demon birds were quick to get out of its way. They were now approaching the mysterious floating island. It was covered in a thick fog, but they could still see an outline of a large castle off in the distance, they all figured that was the best place to start searching for Aku . The griffin landed and the fox, bat, dog, and human jumped off. "Goodluck" the griffin commented as she took to the skies once more. The four now stood in front of a rather creepy looking forest. They couldn't see much..since the fog was so thick…Cheza wasn't sure how they were going to navigate their way through it.

"The castle is beyond this forest…we have no choice but to pass through it" the fox stated. Yoko took hold of Cheza's left hand as Kuronue took hold of her right, "whatever you do don't let go of our hands..we wont be able to find you..this fog is to thick" Cheza glanced down at Alice, "what about Alice! I don't want her to get lost…" Yoko pulled a seed from his hair and created a vine, "this will suffice as a leash".

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

They had been walking for a couple hours now. Yoko knew something had been following them the whole time, although he could not see anything..he could sense a pair of eyes staring at him. A "hoot" type sound emitted from somewhere above them. They stopped and looked up, although it was pointless..they couldn't see a thing. "I have a proposition for yoooooou" came a male voice.

Yoko's eyes narrowed, "show yourself!". "very well then" the voice replied. The surrounding fog vanished into thin air, and the trio found themselves staring into a large pair of golden eyes "the great horned owl!" Yoko and Kuronue exclaimed in unison. Cheza blinked, "did I miss something?" Cheza knew this defiantly was no ordinary owl. Its eyes were as big as saucers and it stood at least 5 ft tall. "The great horned owl has been around since the dawn of time! He is the smartest being to exist in any of the three worlds…" Yoko informed. "Thank you for the compliment Kurama" the owl replied. "How do you know his name!" Cheza exclaimed. "Well..you see I know everything about everything.." The owl replied. Kuronue blinked, "soo…whats my middle name then?" Yoko rolled his eyes, "shut up Kuro..you said you had a proposition for us?" The owl ruffled its feathers then walked over to Cheza, " this girl…she doesn't have much time left..she will die in less than an hour from now" Yoko's golden orbs widened , "what…?" he asked shakily. A sad look could be seen in the owls eyes, "she will die…Aku, the one you have come to fight, will kill her.." Yoko clinched his fists, "over my dead body!". "He knows youre coming…one of his minions is a psychic demon..he foresaw your arrival..he knows what youre going to do before you even do it! BUT I can change your fate…I can save you Cheza". "How!" Yoko demanded. " I will kill him for you…but there is something I will want in return…"

"and what is it you want?" Kuronue asked. " Every living creature is destined to the same fate…death. I have been alive longer than any being ever has..but my time here is now coming to an end… The owl extended its wings and flew off into a tree nearby, "hey! Where are you going!" Kuronue exclaimed. The owl did not respond, but it returned only seconds later with a large egg in its mouth. Gently, the owl placed it on the ground in front of Cheza. " I have transferred all my knowledge and strength into this egg…the egg of my unborn child. He will never survive on his own..at least not for the first few years of his life. When my time has come to an end, the egg will hatch..and my child will at last be born. Cheza, I want you to raise my child..protect him with your life, since I will not be able to." "I….. would be honored too" Cheza replied. "Then I must go and destroy this Aku before my time has expired.."

"You said you transferred all of your strength into that egg..how will you defeat Aku?" Yoko asked.

" Indeed my strength is gone..but my endless knowledge isn't. I will defeat Aku, you needn't worry fox". The owl turned his attention back to Cheza, " Before I depart I shall open a portal to send you back to youre own world.." A swirly blue portal appeared seemingly out of nowhere, " Farewell my new friends". Alice entered the portal, followed by Kuronue and Yoko. Cheza picked up the egg and walked to the portal, stopping in front of it. She turned to face the owl, "I promise I will never let any harm come to your child.." The owl nodded, "thank you Cheza". She smiled then entered the portal, finding herself in her apartment along with Alice, Kuronue, and Yoko.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Later that night/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\

Kurama held Cheza in his arms ,holding her in a tight embrace. "I couldn't fathom losing you Cheza…just the thought...I..I don't know what I would do…" he whispered into her ear. Cheza noticed the egg moving out of the corner of her eye, "Kurama look!" The two ran over to the egg, which was now beginning to crack. Soon, out popped an itty bitty owl. Its eyes were closed and it had not one feather yet. "he's passed on…" Cheza said sadly. "Yes..but a new life has been created" Kurama replied. Cheza stared down at the baby owl, "what should we name him?" "hmm…I have no idea..I've never had to name an owl before…" Cheza shrugged, " well..we still have plenty of time to come up with a name..soo….what exactly do baby owls eat?" Kurama blinked, "hmm…I do know they don't drink water…" "They don't drink water! Then what do they drink?" "Blood" Kurama replied. "Oh…" Cheza replied staring down at the little owl. "Hes going to a handful..but I'll be here to help you in any way that I can" Kurama said. Cheza smiled, " thank you".


	24. Chapter 24

"Yusuke its 8 in the morning! What do you think youre doing!" Keiko exclaimed. Already Yusuke was hitting the drinks with Kuronue. "Its new years youre supposed to get drunk and act stupid!" Keiko crossed her arms, "remember you promised me you would take me to see the fireworks tonight! You better not get to drunk!" A knock on the door caught their attention and Keiko answered to be greeted by Kurama. "Hello Keiko, is Yusuke around?" "Yo fox boy in here!" Yusuke yelled from the living room."Want a beer?" Yusuke asked as the fox entered the room. "No thankyou, actually I stopped by to ask you a favor" Yusuke stared down at the little owl craddled in Kurama's arms, " if your asking me to baby sit, not happening!" " Kurama is smart enough to know not to leave him with you!" Kuronue interjected. "Hey! I take care of Puu just fine, don't I!" "you mean Keiko takes care of him!" Kuronue replied. "Actually Yukina has agreed to watch him for me tonight" Kurama interveined. "where are you going tonight?" Yusuke asked. "Im taking Cheza out to see the fireworks". "Keiko's making me take her to see the fireworks too..you should stop by here afterwards…were throwing a party..Boton, Kuwabara, Shizuru, and Kuronue here, will be there". Kurama nodded, " Sounds like a plan…."

"so… what were you gonna ask me?"

" I was wondering if you still had that demon blood in your fridge". Long before the gang met Cheza they had fought a snake demon and Yusuke was bitten, Koenma had asked them to bring back a jar's worth of its blood to make an antidote for him. Koenma took what he needed and asked Yusuke to store the rest in his fridge in case of an emergency. "Yeah its in there..why?" "baby owls survive on blood and meat but I believe he's to small to ingest anything other than blood as of now". "oh….Keiko! bring me the demon blood that's in the fridge! And hurry it up!" He knew Keiko would get payback for that remark. Sure enough she came out of the kitchen with the blood, glaring at Yusuke . "Next time I suggest you ask politely" she said after smacking Yusuke upside the head. Kuronue stood up after setting his 9th empty beer can on the coffee table, "Im going on another beer run I'll be back". Before Kurama could tell him what a bad idea that was he had jumped out the window and had taken to the skies.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kurama took Cheza's hand in his leading her through the crowded streets. The fireworks were fixing to start so they sped up to find a secluded area to watch them at. They settled on a wooden dock that extended out into the water. The thunderous roar of fireworks filled their ears and they stared up to see the colorful patterns lighting up the night sky. After a few minutes Kurama inspected his watch, " 2 minutes until midnight" Fireworks continued to go off and soon the sound of people cheering filled their ears, the clock had stroked midnight. The two embraced in a midnight kiss, "happy new years" Kurama whispered into her ear. Cheza couldn't think of a better way to start off the new year…everything just seemed perfect at the moment. Kurama began to fumble around his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black box, "Cheza, theres something I want to give you". Cheza was a bit caught off guard as he opened the box revealing a beautiful diamond promise ring. "I want you to know how much you mean to me…I love you Cheza". Cheza was speechless but she managed to say I love you back. He placed the ring on her finger, " its beautiful Kurama…thank you".

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Boton?" Keiko poked the intoxicated bluenette's side. She moaned and swatted her hand away, " I'm going to set up a room for her Yusuke..shes to drunk to drive…err..ride her oar back" Yusuke wasn't even paying attention to anything Keiko was saying his attention was on the tv. "DAMN IT!" Yusuke shouted. " Kuronue's kicking your ass Yusuke!" Shizuru commented. Yusuke muttered some colorful words under his breath before getting to his feet, " I gotta take a whiz I'll be back!" Kuwabara stood up just as someone began to knock on the front door, "that must be Kurama and Cheza!" he exclaimed. Yusuke returned a few minutes later to see Kurama and Cheza now occupying the couch, "Hey guys glad you could make it!" Yusuke handed the couple beers then flopped back down on the other couch occupying the living room. Kurama only took a few sips of his, Cheza finished hers off rather quickly and descended on her second." Come on Kurama! Loosen up! You used to drink more than anyone I knew!" Kuronue exclaimed after noticing Kurama had barely touched his beer. "That was a long time ago..things have changed" " Lets see who can take the most shots!" Yusuke commented while setting shot glasses down for everyone to take. Yusuke and Kuronue kept pestering Kurama until he joined in, eventually they were all to plastered to even walk! Kuwabara was passed out on the floor, Puu had flown over and decided to sleep on his back. Yusuke and Kuronue were still playing videogames, Keiko and Shizuru were chatting away in the kitchen. Cheza had passed out on the couch, and Kurama had transformed into Youko after awhile finding he could actually walk in his demon form. ( It takes a lot more alcohol to get a demon drunk…especially Youko) After awhile Yusuke and Kuronue got tired of playing videogames and decided to play a twisted game of truth or dare….well basically a twisted game of dare. "I dare you too….go smack Keiko on her ass!" Kuronue exclaimed. Yusuke grinned, "alright". He stood up, swaying quite a bit and walked into the kitchen. Not even a minute later Keiko screamed Yusukes name and he came running out of the kitchen with Keiko close behind. She slapped him leaving a red hand imprint then returned to the kitchen . Kuronue and Youko laughed their asses off as Yusuke rubbed his cheek, "my turn". Yusuke looked over to Kuronue, "I dare you to place Kuwbaras hand in a glass of warm water". Kuronue smirked, "hell..I'd do that for free". The three began to snicker after Kuronue placed Kuwabara's hand in warm water. A big wet spot soon appeared on Kuwbara's pants and the three began to laugh hysterically. "My turn" Kuronue said. He glanced at Cheza then at Youko, "You got shaving cream?" Yusuke blinked, "…yeah?" A mischievous grin appeared on the bat's face, " go get it "

Yusuke soon appeared with the shaving cream and Kuronue proceeded to dare Youko to do the old feather and shaving cream trick on Cheza. Once again the three began to snicker as Youko poured some shaving cream in Cheza's hand then began to tickle her nose with a feather. Soon Cheza went to scratch her nose and shaving cream made contact with her face. The three laughed hysterically as a confused Cheza woke up. Soon she realized one of them had gotten her with the shaving cream trick. "Hey! That's not funny!" she got to her feet and almost fell over but Youko caught her. "Careful kitten". Yusuke grinned, "my turn again". Youko picked Cheza up, "I'll be back in a second..Im going to help her wash the shaving cream off". The two left the room and Yusuke proceeded to dare Kuronue to put on a pair of Keikos underwear and walk around in them in front of Keiko and Shizuru". Youko and Cheza came back into the room a few minutes later to hear Keiko scream Yusuke's name once again. Youko sighed, "what did you do this time…" Yusuke began to laugh, "have a look for yourself". Kuronue soon emerged from the kitchen in a pink thong. Yusuke began to laugh harder as Keiko appeared her face bright red. "YUSUKE URAMESHI! I've had just about enough!" "Whoa! Calm down angry lady!" Keiko glared daggers at Yusuke, "just wait until everyone goes home!" Kuronue changed back into his clothes and the trio resumed their game. Cheza decided to go back to sleep after warning the three if they put her hand in warm water she'd kick their asses. It was now Kuronue's turn to dare someone. "Yusuke..I dare you to wake Hiei up with a super soaker". Youko began to laugh picturing the scene in his head. Yusuke tried to chicken out, "I.. I don't even know where he is!". Youko grinned, "I can sense his spirit energy..I can take you to him.." Kuronue and Youko smothered their laughter as they approached the tree Hiei was in. Youko created a flower to light up the area making Hiei visible. He was sleeping peacefully, somehow the three hadn't woken him up yet. Yusuke hesitantly took aim with the water gun, Youko had pumped it up so the water would shoot out really hard. Youko and Kuronue burst out laughing as the water made contact with Hiei's face. His crimson eyes snapped open and he looked really pissed, Yusuke took off running. In a flash Hiei was in front of him, "Going somewhere detective?". "Hey..Hiei…I..I..Youko did it!" Yusuke exclaimed. Hiei glanced at Youko then back at Yusuke who still had the super soaker in his hand, "I'll give you a 5 second head start" Yusuke took off running and Youko and Kuronue continued to laugh.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Youko opened up the door to Cheza's apartment after saying goodbye to the others. He was instantly greeted by Alice. She followed them into the bedroom where Youko sat Cheza down. He laid down beside her and brushed her hair out of her face, "goodnight kitten" he whispered. He stared at her for quite some time before eventually sucummbing to the darkness . Cheza awoke the next morning to find herself in Kurama's arms. It was well past 12, Kurama was usually up and about by 8. He must have gotten really drunk she thought. She replayed the nights events and her eyes fell upon the promise ring Kurama had given her. She smiled to herself picturing the day when Kurama would give her an engagement ring. Of course that day would be a long time from now, "woof!" Cheza was torn from her thoughts as Alice trotted happily into the room with her doggy bowl in her mouth. She got up and walked into the kitchen ready to start the day, unaware her every movement was being watched…..


	25. Chapter 25

**Youko opened up the door to Cheza's apartment after saying goodbye to the others. He was instantly greeted by Alice. She followed them into the bedroom where Youko sat Cheza down. He laid down beside her and brushed her hair out of her face, "goodnight kitten" he whispered. He stared at her for quite some time before eventually sucummbing to the darkness . Cheza awoke the next morning to find herself in Kurama's arms. It was well past 12, Kurama was usually up and about by 8. He must have gotten really drunk she thought. She replayed the nights events and her eyes fell upon the promise ring Kurama had given her. She smiled to herself picturing the day when Kurama would give her an engagement ring. Of course that day would be a long time from now, "woof!" Cheza was torn from her thoughts as Alice trotted happily into the room with her doggy bowl in her mouth. She got up and walked into the kitchen ready to start the day, unaware her every movement was being watched…..**

A pair of brown eyes watched Cheza from afar, the owner of these eyes had a pair of fox ears and short fiery red hair. She frowned and clinched her fist when Kurama walked into view and gave Cheza a kiss. Just who was this girl and why was Kurama kissing her and why the hell was he human! The strange foxy women thought angrily. The door to Cheza's apartment opened and out trotted Alice alongside her master. Cheza had yet to notice the foxy intruder, she was perched high up on a tree branch hidden from sight. The women watched as Kurama walked out of view, she turned her attention back to Cheza.

"I should kill her right now, how dare she kiss my precious Kurama!" The fox thought. Cheza sighed and sat under a large oak tree while Alice pranced around finding the perfect spot to do her business. "Well well you must be Kurama's girlfriend I don't believe we've met" Cheza jumped at the sudden sound of the women speaking, she looked around but she didn't see anyone. "Show yourself!" Cheza demanded.

Soon Cheza came face to face with the foxy intruder, a glare was plastered on her face. "Who are you?" The fox pointed her thumb at herself, "I am Allura. Kurama's mate! Now tell me why he is trapped in that human body! What have you done to him you witch!" she hissed. Cheza was at a loss of words, why was this women claiming to be Kurama's girlfriend!" Cheza remained silent contemplating how to respond. Allura's eyes narrowed as she removed her sword from its sheath, " You must have used your witch magic to turn him human! Once I kill you the spell will be broken now won't it?" She lunged at Cheza who barely dodged in time. Alice bared her teeth and lunged for the fox's throat, Allura aimed her sword ready to kill the poor dog. "NO!" Cheza screamed while pushing Alice out of the way. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Kurama ran to the door upon hearing Cheza scream, he was just in time to see Cheza being impaled by Allura's sword. The sword pierced Chezas back, the bloody tip of the blade could be seen near Cheza's naval. "Heh! That will teach you!" Allura exclaimed while removing the sword. Kurama watched as Cheza fell to the ground lifeless. "CHEZA!" he screamed in horror while running down the apartment stairs. When he came to her side he listened for her heartbeat paying no attention whatsoever to Allura. There was no heartbeat, no breathing, nothing.

The devastated kitsune slowly stood up his eyes flickering gold, "What have you done?" Allura took a step back up as Kurama began to transform. Smoke engulfed the surrounding area, soon the shadowy figure of Youko Kurama appeared. "It worked! Your back to your old self!" Allura chirped, oblivious that Kurama was lusting for her blood. Her smile vanished when she noticed Youko was not happy to see her. "Youko..I thought you would be happy to see me! I AM your mate after all!" Youko said nothing his icy stare remained glued to Allura. She finally seemed to realize she was in deep trouble, "I..Im sorry..I..I didn't think she meant anything to you.." she stuttered while taking a step back. Youko took a step forward, "Allura why are you here? I've told you before and I'll tell you for the last time I'm not your mate". Allura's ears flattened, before she could respond Keiko appeared from her apartment with Cheza's precious baby owl. "Kurama? Whats..whats going on?" she asked uneasily. Her eyes scanned the scene before her, stopping on the lifeless body of Cheza. "Oh no! CHEZA!" The baby owl seemed to sense her distress, it began to cry loudly. Yusuke appeared upon hearing Keiko shout Cheza's name. He quickly assessed the situation and bolted down the stairs to stop Kurama from doing anything he might regret. "Kurama!" he exclaimed. Youko turned his attention to the spirit detective, "Stay back Yusuke this doesn't involve you" In one swift motion Youko pulled a seed from his silver locks, "you'll pay for what you have done Allura!" "KURAMA, NO!" Yusuke knew Kurama was thinking with his emotions, it wasn't Yusuke who stopped the fox though…

Kuronue now stood in front of his old comrade," You know Allura has never been to bright.." Youko's eyes narrowed, " Move" he demanded. The newly born owl flew out of Keiko' hands, she gasped and attempted to grab the little guy but to no avail. How could the owl even fly yet! His eyes had not even opened yet! The owl struggled to fly but he made it to his destination, Cheza's body. Time seemingly froze…

"What the hell" Kuronue muttered while looking around. Everyone..everthing was frozen except for himself and the baby owl. The owl began to jump up and down on Cheza's back, a faint glow surfaced from her bloody wound, slowly the glow began to grow until it engulfed her entire body. Kuronue watched in awe as time began to move backwards. Soon large oak trees that had been around for hundreds of years were now little sprouts barely peeking out of the soil. Kuronue grabbed his head as a strange melody rang through his ears, why did the sound hurt so much! He closed his eyes and clinched his teeth, soon the melody stopped. Slowly the bat opened his eyes, time was no longer frozen. He looked around he wasn't in the human world anymore..he was in the makai!

A groan tore his gaze from the blood red sky to Cheza. She was sitting upright with the baby owl in her lap, she soaked in her surroundings then looked at Kuronue. "Kuronue? Whats..whats going on? Are we in demon world?" Kuronue said nothing but made his way over to her and helped her to her feet. He gave her a death hug, relaxing only for a minute. "How did I get back here!" Cheza and Kuronue looked to their left as Allura appeared from behind a large tree. She stiffened as she spotted the two, "Listen..I..I'm sorry about the whole killing you thing. " she stuttered while taking a step back.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Youko and Yusuke exchanged glances, "What..happened?" he asked. Confusion was evident on his face as he looked around. "Hey…that foxy lady is gone" "So are Kuronue and Cheza!" Keiko exclaimed. Youko clinched his fist, "Where are they!" he roared angrily. "I think the baby owl has something to do with their disappearance" Keiko said uneasily. Everyone remained silent contemplating what their next plan of action would be.


	26. Chapter 26

" Something isn't right" Kuronue muttered while scanning the area. Everything seemed pretty much the same to Cheza. She had been to demon world a few times and

each time everything looked just about the same. The landscape was always baron and the air always smelled like rotting flesh. Allura scanned the area as well, "you

know..I think you're right..something is…off".

"This place looks kind of familiar Kuronue.." Cheza said while looking around. Kuronue crossed his arms, he remained silent. Cheza thought back to her first encounter

with the demon realm, her eyes widened. "I know where we're at! We're near Kurama's hideout!" she exclaimed. Kuronue frowned, "you're right" he was annoyed

Cheza had realized this before him. Kuronue grabbed a hold of Cheza's wrist, "come on." The two began to walk off, leaving Allura by herself, "Wait up you two!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The trio now stood in front of the familiar cave of Youko, Kurama. Darkness had arrived much faster than anticipated, a full moon was now their only source of light.

Cheza remembered there being vines all over the cave hiding it from view, but now there were no vines or anything. The old torches she remembered from before were

now lighting up the inside of the cave, she could hear something..or someone moving inside. Obviously, someone was living here. "You two stay here, Allura if you

sense any demons approaching I trust you will protect Cheza." He gave her an intimidating look as if to say you better protect her or I'll kill you! Allura nodded, "sure,

no problem."

The two watched as Kuronue walked into the cave, soon he was out of view. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. "I know we got off to a bad start Cheza, I'm really

sorry I attacked you" Allura said trying to diffuse the tension in the air. "Don't worry about it, by the way I wanted to ask you something. Why did you keep referring to

yourself as Kurama's mate?" Allura looked down at her feet and kicked at the dirt, "well you see. I had a big crush on him back in the day. I had seen him on numerous

occasions at the local pub playing poker, he never paid me any attention. He always went for the slutty girls who threw themselves at him. Anyways, I decided to

challenge him to a game of poker one day. He asked what would he get if he won. I told him if I won he had to become my mate…and if he won I would give him a rare

treasure. I didn't really have any rare treasure, but he didn't know that. Anyways I won, but he didn't keep his end of the bargain, the jerk!" she exclaimed. Before

Allura could say anything else the sound of voices began to echo around them. Allura ears began to twitch, "they're coming from every direction! Come on we need to

hide!" The fox grabbed Cheza's arm and the two took off, hiding behind a large tree nearby. Soon a whole group of demons appeared. They were all oblivious of the

two girls who were watching them.

Cheza watched as a dog demon began to sway and fall flat on his face. A few other demons beside him began to laugh, "the poor bastard drunk more than he could

handle! Hes gonna have one hell of a hangover tomorrow!" Others began to laugh as well. The laughter stopped abruptly as an icy voice emitted from the cave.

Cheza's eyes widened as a familiar silver fox appeared alongside Kuronue.

" I was informed someone betrayed me today" His golden orbs scanned the band of demons, stopping on a rat demon. Even though Cheza was a good distance from

the rat demon, she could still see him shaking and sweating profusely. Youko walked over to the demon, "I believe this belongs to you".

Youko handed the shaky demon a handful of gold coins. "Erik here hired an assassin to kill me. "

"Im sor…sorr…sorry Youko. Pl..pl..please don't kill me!" the demon squeaked. Youko turned around his back now to the demon, " There's an old saying forgive and

forget" Youko commented. The rat demon gave a sigh of relief, but before he could express his gratitude Youko had cut off his head. The rest of the demons moved

back, remaining completely silent. " I don't believe in the saying. All of you return to your posts" Youko demanded while turning his attention to Kuronue.

Cheza grimaced at the bloody scene before her. This wasn't Kurama! he wouldn't do something like this…not unless it was necessary! She watched as the demons

scattered taking off in all directions. Kuronue looked in Cheza's direction briefly before turning his attention back to his old comrade. This didn't go unnoticed though,

Youko's golden orbs flickered in her direction. Cheza could feel her heart begin to race and her limbs began to tremble. She had quickly hidden herself from view, but

she wasn't sure she had been quick enough. Cheza's eyes widened when she realized Allura was still in the same spot, she hadn't even moved! The idiot! Youko had

seen her for sure!

"Kuronue, what is that annoying pest doing here!" Cheza froze, she waited for Kuronue to say something. "She followed me here" Kuronue responded nonchalantly.

"why do you smell like human Kuro?" he asked. Cheza could tell Youko was beginning to get suspicious. "I think he's on to us Cheza!" Allura whispered. "Shut up!"

Cheza demanded. Youko's gaze fell upon the tree Allura and Cheza were behind, "I suggest you two reveal yourselves before I get angry" Allura appeared from behind

the tree again, "Hey Youko! I..umm..its just me over here, all by myself…just umm…seeing what you were up to!" Cheza clinched her fist, Kuronue was right..she wasn't

very bright!

Youko glared at Kuronue, " What are you trying to hide from me Kuro?"

"Nothing man. I told you she followed me here. " Kuronue replied. "What about the human?" Youko asked not taking his eyes off his partner in crime. He was waiting

for a reaction from the bat and he got one. "What? Allura just likes to talk to herself. There's no one with her" In a flash Youko was gone from sight. Cheza didn't dare

peak from behind the tree, she waited for Youko's reply. She closed her eyes, her back leaning against the tree. She was trying not to make a sound, but she couldn't

help but let out a startled scream when a hand went around her neck.

Youko was now face to face with Cheza. His golden iris's appeared much colder and ruthless than she remembered. His gaze fell upon the ring on her finger, a familiar

demonic energy was emitting from it.

He let go of her neck, "where did you get this human!" Cheza was too scared to speak, she began to back up. "Why do I sense my spirit energy in this ring?" "Duh!

Because she's your mate!" Allura exclaimed. "Shut up you idiot!" Cheza shouted in anger. Youko smirked, "a human is my mate?"

Allura nodded, but didn't speak. Youko pinned Cheza to the tree, she could feel his breath on her neck. Tingles ran up and down her spine, her heart continued to race.

He stared into her eyes and took in her scent. He could smell his scent all over her, but there was something different about it.

The sound of footsteps approaching caused Youko to tear his gaze from Cheza. Kuronue now stood in front of the two, Cheza's baby owl now occupying his shoulder.

Youko recognized the owl right away, his face twisted into a look of confusion. "The great horned owl has perished. This little guy is his son..he sent us here" Youko

raised an eyebrow, "go on".

"Jeese Youko, I thought you were supposed to be all smart and stuff! Haven't you figured it out yet! We're from the future! And in the future you and Cheza are

mates!" Allura exclaimed. "oh and for some reason your also human…but not human? Umm…I haven't really figure that part out yet" Allura commented. "I should have

let Kurama kill you" Kuronue muttered under his breath.

Youko still had a look of confusion on his face, he remained silent. Kuronue could tell he was processing all this weird information and trying to figure out what to do. He

was scared Youko would try to kill Cheza, he had always enjoyed killing humans.

Kuronue was a bit caught off guard at what Youko did next….

The fox began to laugh, he looked as if he was going insane! "Whats so funny?" Kuronue demanded.

Youko stopped laughing, his gaze falling upon Cheza again. A lecherous smirk fell upon his face….

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\

"I am sorry Kurama, I can't seem to locate them anywhere! It's as if they disappeared into thin air or something!" Koenma exclaimed. The doors to Koenma's office

opened, Hiei appeared. "Hiei!" Yusuke exclaimed. "I know where your precious Cheza is fox". The red head's eyes widened, "where!" Hiei leaned against the wall his

eyes closed, "shes with you as we speak" Kurama and Yusuke exchanged glances, "what?" Hiei's eyes opened and he walked towards Kurama, "The three have been

sent back in time." Kurama's eyes widened again, "You mean…Youko…Cheza…" A million thoughts raced through the fox's head. What if Youko killed Cheza! Or worse

yet raped her and then killed her..or what if…

"You needn't worry fox. Kuronue has a plan"


	27. Chapter 27

"Do you really think it's a good idea to leave Cheza alone with Youko?" Allura asked while glancing back

at the pair a distance away. "He won't kill her, besides I don't have much of a choice. We can't bring a

human where we are going, she would be killed on the spot." "I suppose you're right…but I mean..he

may not try to kill her but that doesn't mean he wont try to..errm..you know" Kuronue frowned, "I've

already thought about that, which is why I left the owl with her. " Allura gave the bat a confused look,

"how will the owl stop him from trying to…get his way with her." Kuronue grinned, " She doesn't know

It, but the owl is protecting her. If she feels threatened by anyone the owl with automatically put up

a barrier around her." "oh..I see."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\.\/\/\/\

Cheza felt really uncomfortable, Youko kept staring at her. His golden orbs were filled with curiosity.

"Tell me, how did I become trapped in a human body?" Cheza crossed her arms, "well…I don't think I

Should tell you that..it would alter the future after all." Youko frowned obviously not pleased with her

response, " Exactly. I don't intend to be trapped in a weak human body, especially now that I know

what my future holds for me." "I'm sorry but I'm not going to tell you" Youko glared at the girl for

a brief second before a smirk spread across his face, " I know the real reason you won't tell me."

"Oh? And whats the real reason?" Youko made his way over to Cheza, he was so close she could

feel his body heat radiating off of him, "If you tell me, then you and I will not be mates in the future."

Before she could respond Youko hungrily kissed her on the lips, tingles ran up and down her spine.

He abruptly stopped kissing her and pulled away, "hmm…was I your first?" Cheza felt her face

Heating up, "I..we've never..Im a.." Youko's lips collided once again with Cheza's. She should

have pushed him away, but she couldn't bring herself to..she wanted more….

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Shouldn't you have memories of whats happening now?" Yusuke asked. Kurama sighed, "I'm afraid I

have no memory of meeting Cheza in the past" Yusuke sat up from his seated position on the couch,

" I guess your memory was erased somehow.." Kurama began to pace back and forth a million thoughts

racing through his head. "I don't see why you're so worried about that stupid girl, you're acting

ridiculous." Hiei remarked. Kurama frowned, " Youko can be very unpredictable anything could be

happening to her right now!" Hiei scoffed an annoyed look written all over his face, "I told you Kuronue

has a plan. " Kurama frowned once again, " You still haven't told me this plan yet, why?" Hiei leaned

against the wall his eyes closed, " I have my reasons." Hiei didn't want Kurama to know that Kuronue

had left Cheza alone with Youko. He didn't understand why he had, but he assumed the owl must have

a barrier in place to keep her safe..or something to that effect.

/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\

" What..is this place…its so…creepy!" Allura commented while peeking out from behind Kuronue.

" I thought you said you've been here before." Kuronue responded. "Well…I lied..you know..I think

I'll just wait right here while you go get..err..whatever it is you came here for." The two were in a small

Village, it appeared vacant. Kuronue knew there were still demons living here though, vicious ones that

would not hesitate to kill a human on the spot or even a weak demon. They feared Kuronue though, the

demons here had learned quickly not to mess with him ever again. He had been here ages ago and was

attacked as soon as he stepped foot in the village, he had slaughtered nearly all of the inhabitants. He

left a few though so they would warn future generations to never mess with him if he were to return

here." The demons here fear me, this is why they haven't killed you yet. If you stay here alone you will

die."Kuronue commented while making his way deeper into the village."eep!" Allura ran to his side, the

two continued walking until they came to a rundown looking shrine. "so..what exactly did we come here

for?" Allura asked while peeking her head through the door of the shrine Kuronue had just walked

through. A few minutes later he emerged from the darkness with a silver pocket watch, "this".

"A watch?" Allura asked with curiosity filled eyes. "Not just any watch. We should be able to open up

a portal back to the future with it." "How come no one has tried to take it before..I mean..most

demons would kill to have something like this." Kuronue placed the pocket watch in his pocket,

"no one has dared to try..its guarded by a dragon…at least its supposed to be." Allura stiffened,

"maybe we should get out of here..in case its hanging around here somewhere."

"To late" Kuronue commented while pulling out a pair of scythes. Allura looked up to see a dragon

With large icy blue eyes, it didn't look to happy….


	28. Chapter 28

**For those of you have reviewed, thank you very much! I know I don't update very often, I plan on**

**changing that!**

"Run" Kuronue ordered while briefly glancing at Allura. "But.." The ground shook as the dragon touched

down a few feet away from the two. "Meet me back at the hideout, now go!" Allura hesitated for

a second before taking off . The dragon was the first one to make a move, the beast released a

flurry of flames. Kuronue barely dodged. Feeling heat radiating from his head he quickly removed

his tattered hat to see the tip was on fire. "damn it! I've had that hat for centuries!" He threw it to the

ground not bothering to try putting it out. This dragon was special and so were the flames it shot out. He

had learned the last time he was here that the flames the reptilian emitted were referred to as phoenix

flames because they would burn for hours before dying out only to be reborn again with even more of a

vengeance. He knew he couldn't kill the beast because it would alter the future, his plan was to wait

until Allura was out of the village before taking off himself. The dragon was trapped here and could not

leave the village, so his plan was simple…run! He glanced back to see Allura far off in the distance, now

near the outskirts of the village. Kuronue dodged the dragons tail as it attempted to knock him off

his feet. Kuronue spread out his wings deciding the best course of action to take was to fly out of the

village. He took to the skies soon after he heard the thunderous roar of the beast and the sound of

wings flapping.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza's back slammed against Youko's bed. "We cant.." his lips crashed against hers as he pinned

her to his bed. "Don't worry I'll be gentle kitten" Cheza and Youko glanced over to their left as her owl

made a weird gurgling noise. The little owl was nestled up in a blanket that had been carelessly thrown

to the ground. *All that little guy has done is sleep since he got here! He must be trying to recharge his

spirit energy..sending us here must have taken a lot out of him …*

Her thoughts dispersed as Youko began to kiss her stomach. Her mind began to race as she realized the

situation she was in. He continued to kiss making his way to her naval then even lower. She held her

breath as he undid her zipper. This was it…now was the time to stop him…or continue on.

She had to stop him..it wouldn't be right to continue this, but she didn't want to stop him…

He stopped and looked up at her, " I tend to get caught up in the moment..if I start to hurt you tell me"

His golden orbs were filled with lust, a predator vs prey look radiated from them. She wanted him to

continue more than anything..

"CHEZA! YOUKO! WHERE ARE YOU TWO! KURONUE'S IN TROUBLE!" The two looked up as Allura

appeared in the doorway of the room they were residing in. "A DRAGON! ITS AFTER…" she stopped

talking abruptly her eyes nearly the size of saucers, "oh…I..didn't mean to interrupt..wow..this is

awkward." She slowly began to back up until she was out of site. Youko growled in frustration as he

got up from the bed. Cheza quickly got up as well and adjusted her clothing, "Allura wait up!"

Cheza quickly caught up with the vixen after picking up her owl, " Kuronue's in trouble!?" Allura nodded,

but before she could respond Kuronue appeared. "Kuronue! You're okay!" Kuronue grinned revealing his

fangs, " I took off soon after you did." A look of relief washed over Allura, " What happened to the

dragon!? You couldn't have killed him that quickly!" Kuronue crossed his arms, " It can't leave the

village..all I had to do was stall for time until you made it out safely then follow you out." Allura smiled

brightly, "well now that we're all here lets get the heck out of here and back to our time!"

Kuronue looked up as Youko appeared next to Cheza, " I can't allow you to leave until you tell me how

I became trapped in a human body. " Before anyone could respond the drunken dog demon they had

seen earlier appeared . He was flailing his arms and yelling something incoherent about a guy named

Yomi. "Its awful Youko! Yomi…hes..hes blind! A demon attacked him!" Kuronue motioned for Cheza

and Allura to follow him out of the cave. The four made it out (Kuronue, Cheza, Allura and the owl) and

the bat pulled out the pocket watch, " Couldn't have asked for a better distraction" he commented as

the sound of Youko yelling angrily from inside the cave filled their ears.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\

"Kurama" The red head looked up to see Hiei looking out the window. The whole gang had taken

refuge inside Yusuke and Keiko's apartment awaiting for any news of Cheza and Kuronue.

"What is it Hiei?" he asked curiously. As he made his way to the window he looked out to see

Cheza, Kuronue and Allura appear from a portal. "CHEZA!" Kuwabara and Yusuke who had fallen

asleep awoke from the fox's loud outburst.

Cheza looked up after hearing her name being yelled. "Kurama!" she smiled brightly as he ran down

the stairs and joined her side. They embraced in hug that seemed like it would never end.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ that night/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/

Finally they were alone. Cheza and Kurama decided to take a walk in the park with Alice.

"You never told me what happened while you were there." Kurama commented while

staring at Cheza with curious green eyes. Her eyes widened for a second, so he had no

memory of meeting her in the past. She felt relieved about that, after all she had almost..

"Well..nothing exciting really happened." "Kuronue mentioned something about a dragon, it

didn't hurt you did it?" Cheza shook her head, "Oh. I never saw the dragon. Kuronue and Allura

left to get the pocket watch without me..it would have been too dangerous to bring me after all."

Kurama frowned, "He left you alone..with Youko?" Cheza nodded, "yes. But don't be mad at him, he

Didn't have much of a choice." Kurama's eyes narrowed, "Youko..didn't try anything did he?"

Cheza shook her head, "No! he just kept asking me questions about how he became trapped in a human

body and stuff like that."

Smoke began to surround Kurama, Cheza took a step back. Why was Youko coming out?

The smoke cleared and there stood Youko with a playful grin on his face, "you know its not nice

to lie kitten." "What are you talking about?" Cheza asked fully aware of what was coming next.

"Shuichi may have no memory of what happened..but I do" Cheza felt her face heating up, "I…I would

have never gone all the way with yo.." Youko kissed her on the lips stopping her from talking,

"Don't worry kitten I won't tell, it'll be our little secret. " Cheza fell silent, not sure of how to respond.

Youko's arms wrapped around her, "hmm...when are we going to resume where we left off?"


	29. Chapter 29

" I don't understand….I lost all control over him." Kurama commented. " What did he say to

you?" Kurama's emerald gaze locked onto Cheza as he asked this. Very rarely Youko would attempt

to overpower him and take control of his body, why had it been so important for him to transform so

suddenly? "he…umm.." Cheza shifted uncomfortable under his gaze, she couldn't think of anything

believable to tell him. The fox's eyes narrowed, what was she hiding from him? "Cheza!" Cheza nearly

jumped at Kuwabara's sudden appearance. "your owl! Look!" Cheza eyed Kuwabara's hands as he

opened them revealing the baby owl…it was glowing? "What the.." Cheza commented while walking

closer to get a better inspection of the critter. An odd golden glow was emitting from the little guy,

"he suddenly started glowing in his sleep" Kuwabara informed. "I've never heard of

an owl glowing before.." Cheza remarked. "This is no ordinary owl…" Kurama replied. " Do you have

any idea why hes glowing, Kurama?" Kuwabara asked. " I don't have a clue.."

The three resumed staring at the glowing owl who lay fast asleep in Kuwabara's palms.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza stared at her owl who was still fast asleep, the glow around it had dimmed quite a bit. She had

noticed as soon as Kurama would enter the room the glow would brighten significantly. She frowned,

why? she couldn't come up with an explanation. Cheza looked up as Kurama appeared in the room, "

Boton is bringing us some books on the great horned owl tomorrow. The spirit world library is filled with

a lot of useful information, I'm sure we will find at least some answers to our questions." Cheza frowned

again, as soon as Kurama had entered the glow had brightened once again..only this time ever brighter

than before. "Is something wrong?" Before she could respond the glow around the owl became nearly

blinding, the two shielded their eyes reflexively. Only seconds later the glow diminished then

disappeared completely. "Hey! The glow..its gone!" Cheza ran over to the owl, it looked exactly the

same. "Nothing..seems different." "Are you sure about that kitten?" Cheza quickly turned around to see

Youko staring at her with his piercing golden orbs. "Why..did you transform again!?" Youko paused for a

second. "Shuichi is not as pleased about this as I am..it appears the owl has caused me to transform…"

"well..transform back then?" Youko grinned, "I can't…" Cheza's eyes widened for a second, "what..do

you mean? You can't!? why can't you?" Youko shrugged, " I don't know". Cheza turned her attention

back to the mischievous owl, obviously the owl had caused this..but why? "so..you're stuck like this?"

A smirk fell upon the fox's face, " That seems to be the case kitten."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

" So you're stuck like this? How the hell did that happen!?" Yusuke asked. Hiei glared at the owl in

Cheza's palms, " that thing seems more of a hassle than it is worth. " Kuronue grinned, "I'm sure this

isn't permanent..and if it is, don't worry I won't mind. I miss seeing your beautiful face around all the

time anyways."

Youko rolled his eyes, "I'm touched." Hiei didn't mind either, in fact he liked it better when Kurama

was in his demon form. He thoroughly enjoyed sparing against his silvered haired friend, Kurama was

much more challenging in his demon form. Faster reflexes, more daring, more powerful..the perfect

sparring partner. He was getting tired of going against Kuwabara, his eyes narrowed at the thought of

going against him once again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Youko slammed down another empty beer bottle, " Slow down you guys! beer isn't cheap you know!..at

least not this kind!" Yusuke exclaimed. Youko rummaged through his pockets, soon after pulling out a handful of gold coins,

"this should cover it" he commented. Kuronue grinned, " Youko here can drink more than anyone

I've ever met" Cheza shook her head, " I don't think it's a good idea for you to be getting drunk like

this.." Youko turned his attention to her, " Don't worry kitten..I can handle my alcohol" She rolled

her eyes, "yeah right! Last time I saw you drunk you were passed out on the floor in a bar!"

Kuronue laughed, "That sounds about right" Youko grinned, "Why don't you join us kitten?"

"I think I'll pass". "Suit yourself! More for us!" Kuronue exclaimed while popping open yet another beer.

Cheza rolled her eyes, "I'm going to go take Alice for a walk. I'll be back in a little bit."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Alice pranced around enjoying the cool breeze in the air. Cheza looked up to see Yusuke sitting on

the bottom step of the apartment stairs. He was talking on his cell phone, probably calling to check

up on Keiko. She had been working a lot of late night shifts lately. Turning back around, Cheza

scanned the surrounding area for Alice..she couldn't spot her anywhere. "Alice!" There

was no response. She crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby tree, deciding to wait a few

minutes before setting out to find her doggy companion. Cheza jumped as she felt someone place

a hand on her shoulder. "Yusuke! You trying to give me a heart attack!?" He grinned, "sorry, didn't

mean to pull a Hiei on you." She returned the grin, "Don't worry about it." Yusuke scanned the area,

"Where'd Alice go?" Cheza frowned, "Good question." They both turned to face the woods as the

sound of leaves crunching emitted from them. "Well, I guess that answers that question." Yusuke

commented. Cheza sighed before venturing off into the woods after Alice, Yusuke followed along.

Lucky for them a full moon was out, so there was enough light to see a little ways ahead of them.

Cheza came to an abrupt stop causing Yusuke to bump into her. "You hear that?" she whispered.

A barely audible humming like noise echoed in the detectives ears. "Come on" Cheza motioned for

Yusuke to follow her further into the woods. The deeper they went the louder the noise became until

they realized what it was.

Alice was growling at something….

Cheza froze as memories crept into her mind. Last time she had heard Alice growling like this there had

been a demon. "Alice?" Cheza called out shakily. Yusuke moved in front of her ready to attack anything

that might pop out at them. Silence ensued, the growling had ceased.

Cheza let out a startled scream as something tackled her to the ground. Yusuke spun around catching

site of Alice "Damn it Ali.." She stopped midsentence as the growling started back up

again. The growling had not been coming from Alice after all.

"Yusuke.." Cheza whispered. "Stay here" he ordered while walking deeper into the woods. Soon he

was out of site. The growling continued on sending chills up her spine. Minutes passed..there was still

no sign of Yusuke. Cheza stiffened as Alice began to growl. Her teeth were bared, she looked ready to

attack at any moment. She looked away as a strange light caught the corner of her eye. It looked like

a hovering glowing orb, it was far off in the distance..whatever it was.

/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\

" What the…" Yusuke muttered to himself while glancing around him. He had come upon a clearing in

the woods. The growling was louder than ever, he had come to the conclusion earlier that there was

more than just one creature growling. His suspicions were now confirmed as he now realized he was

surrounded by a pack of angry looking wolves. Their eyes were not focused on him though, but rather

on something ahead of him. They seemed to have little interest in his presence.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza had made up her mind to locate Yusuke. She decided to walk towards the strange orb of light,

more than likely she would come upon Yusuke if she walked in the direction of it. Eventually she

reached the glowing orb of light. It looked like an oversized glowing orange that was hovering

mid air. "What is this thing?" she asked no one in particular. She reached her hand out to grab a hold

of it, but stopped. She debated with herself for a few minutes, deciding rather or not she should touch

it. Finally she decided against her instincts and reached out to grab it. Someone grabbed her arm as

she attempted to, " don't touch it kitten." She turned to see Youko. His eyes were narrowed, he was

looking at something straight ahead of them. " Get behind me." Alice began to growl once again….


	30. Chapter 30

A blinding light followed by a loud explosion caught the attention of Youko and Cheza. "Yusuke!" Cheza

exclaimed. No doubt the light they had seen was Yusuke's spirit gun. Youko yanked Cheza out of the way

as a giant purple ball of energy whizzed passed them and crashed into a tree. Kuronue had apparently

joined the fight…just what exactly were they fighting? Judging by the look in Youko's eyes, whatever

they were up against was dangerous. Cheza was torn from her thoughts as Youko picked her up

and took off, "what about Alice!?" Cheza called out. "I'll come back for her, I have to get you out

of here before.." "Before you run into me?" came an eerie voice. Youko came to a hault and looked

around. His golden orbs locked onto a toddler ahead of them, "who is that?" Cheza whispered.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\

Yusuke and Kuronue stood back to back attacking the vicious creatures that outnumbered them.

"what the hell are these things!? Demon dogs?!" Kuronue slashed away at a large canine like

creature as it lunged at him, " hell hounds". The large canines resembled Dobermans, only these

things were four times as big and their eyes had an eerie red tint to them. "What the hell do they

want!?" "I don't know." Kuronue replied while pouring spirit energy into his scythes.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\/\/

Cheza watched as the creepy looking toddler came closer and closer until she could make out his face

clearly. Oddly enough, he looked kind of familiar. Youko's eyes narrowed, " What business do you have

here Hel?" "Hel?!" Cheza asked while glancing over at the toddler. Before her eyes the toddler began

to grow taller, his face morphed into that of a young teen. His short messy black hair and red eyes

sent chills down her spine. The man known as hel grinned, " I've come to find the spirit detective."

"what do you want with him?" Youko asked. A glare that could rival Hiei's fell upon Hel's face,

"I've come to ask him to join my side. I'm tired of being in my brother's shadow. Its time I show him

whose boss. What better way than to take away his most valuable weapon."

A shocked look fell upon Youko's features, "Koenma is your brother?" Hel nodded, " Yes. He is my step

brother. " Youko relaxed slightly, " Since when are you ruler of the underworld?" Hel's glare vanished

and was replaced by a grin, "I finally talked my father into letting me become the prince of the

underworld!" Youko frowned, " You're now responsible for judging souls who pass through?"

Hel frowned, "Well no..father is still responsible for that. I watch over all the souls that reside in

the underworld, I make sure no souls escape!" Another loud explosion caught everyones attention.

"Oh yeah, I forgot out my pets." Hel whistled loudly causing Youko to flinch.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kuronue and Yusuke exchanged glances, " Must be dinner time" Yusuke wise cracked. All the hell

hounds had abruptly stopped attacking the two and had taken off, vanishing into the night.

" I sense Youko and Cheza nearby come on" Kuronue said while taking off.

Eventually the two came upon Cheza and Youko as well as a strange man in all black.

" Yusuke..Kuronue..meet Hel, Koenma's little brother and now ruler of the underworld."

Yusuke's eyes widened a bit, " YOU'RE KOENMA'S BROTHER!?" he practically screamed.

"I would have never guessed..you two look nothing alike." Kuronue commented.

The man known as hel began to transform once again, soon he was back in his toddler form.

Yusuke pointed at him then burst out laughing, " This little rug rat is ruler of the underworld!"

He continued to laugh as Hel protested his statement, which only caused Yusuke to laugh

harder. " I thought the ruler of the underworld wouldn't be in diapers!" Hel looked like

he was about explode with anger, " I AM NOT A BABY! JUST BECAUSE I LOOK LIKE A BABY

DOESN'T MAKE ME ONE!" Youko and Cheza couldn't help but laugh at Hel's reaction,

afterall, it was the same reaction one would expect from Koenma.

Something began to vibrate in Hel's pocket, he pulled out a communicator similar to the

ones the gang used to communicate with Koenma and Boton. His eyes nearly popped out

of his head, he was obviously afraid of whoever had contacted him. "Fa.. ! what.."

" WHERE ARE YOU!? I GRANTED YOUR REQUEST TO BECOME PRICE OF THE UNDERWORLD AND ON

THE FIRST DAY YOU'VE ALREADY ABANDONED YOUR POST!" boomed a loud voice. "I'm sorry father,

I…" Before he could reply the voice interrupted him once more, "IF YOU ARE NOT HERE IN 20 SECONDS

YOU'RE GETTING 50 SPANKINGS!" Hel quickly slammed his communicator shut than dashed over to

The strange orange orb Cheza had been drawn to earlier. He grabbed ahold of the orb and soon

a portal emerged, "I'll be back! I'll make you regret laughing at me Yusuke Urameshi!"

With that being said the mini-ruler vanished along with the portal.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza sighed and tossed another book to the ground, " Still nothing.." Youko glanced up at her as he

slammed the book in his hands closed, " One of these books is bound to have something useful in it"

Cheza laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling "I've already gone through over 30 books, I'm

taking a break." In an instant Youko was to his feet, "good idea kitten." She closed her eyes as Youko

walked out of the room. A few minutes later she felt someone on the bed with her, her eyes

instantly slid open only to be greeted by Youko's. "I didn't even hear you come back in!"

" I have a theory as to why the owl caused me to take my demon form." Youko said with a mischievous

grin. Cheza gave him a quizzical look, "This outta be good." Yoko played with a string of Cheza's

hair as he replied, " I believe the owl is channeling your emotions." Cheza eyed him suspiciously,

"okay…what does that have to do with the owl causing you to transform?" Youko moved closer

to her and whispered into her ear, " You want me..I can feel it..and so can the owl. Your feelings

of lust are so strong that.." Cheza rolled her eyes, "save it..thats not the reason!" Youko kissed

her on the lips causing tingles to run up and down her spine, "hmm…maybe not…but that

doesn't change the fact that you want me." Cheza could feel her face heating up, " Actually…I

think you got it backwards…you're the one who wants me." She retorted.

Youko moved to sit on top of her, " I think you're right." Before she could reply his lips collided with

hers, before she knew it his hands had traveled under her shirt and unhooked her bra. He was moving

faster than her mind could think! Yes, she did want him..but she couldn't… All thoughts left her mind

as Youko began to kiss her stomach. She couldn't lie to herself anymore, she did want him..badly!


	31. Chapter 31

**Sorry I haven't updated lately, I had to work a week straight (mostly 1-7 hours too, I hate 1 to 7!),**

**including thanksgiving :( and now I'm sick! Ugh!**

Youko dodged to the left just as a fist came barreling down at him. Using his rose whip to keep his

sparing partner at bay, he slyly pulled a seed from his hair. Hiei was grinning madly as he continued

his onslaught of attacks. It had been awhile since he had been in a good sparing match. Cheza

watched from a distance along with Yukina. " You still haven't figured out why Kurama is stuck in

his demon form?" Yukina looked expectantly at Cheza for her reply. "No, we believe it has something

to do with the baby owl though." Yukina looked down at the baby owl cradled in her arms, "you still

haven't come up with a name for him. If you don't mind a suggestion, I have a name in mind."

Cheza smiled, " Not at all, I'm curious to hear the name you've come up with."

Yukina smiled as well, "well. Since he is so mischievous how about the name trouble?" " Sounds quite

fitting, doesn't it?" they both laughed. "Well how about it little guy, do you approve of the name?" The

little owl chirped excitedly, "I'll take that as a yes." Yukina giggled, " I'm glad you like it."

Yukina tore her gaze from Trouble and looked up at Cheza, " I don't mean to be nosy, but did

something happen between you and Kurama?" Cheza stiffened a bit, "what do you mean?"

Yukina fiddled with the owls little talons, looking a little hesitant. "well…its just.. Kurama seems a lot

happier today than usual and…" Cheza thought about the night before, she could feel her face heating

up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." Yukina commented. " Oh, don't worry

about that. To answer you question we..last night we…" Yukina seemed to understand what she was

trying to say, "Oh. I see. I thought so. I'm really happy for you two. You seem so in love with each other."

Cheza looked up at Youko to see him staring at her, more than likely he was listening in on their

conversation. She quickly averted her eyes from his, "Thank you Yukina, you always have such kind

words to say"

" YUKINA, MY LOVE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Cheza laughed, " You and Kuwabara seem really in love with

each other as well. He's such a gentlemen, you're a very lucky women." Now it was Yukina's turn to

blush, "Yes, I am very lucky to have someone like Kazuma." Kuwabara appeared moments later, a big

goofy grin plastered on his face. " Do you know what today is Yukina?" A blank looked fell upon

Yukina's features, "umm…I don't know? What is today Kazuma?" Kazuma revealed a velvet blue

box from his pocket, " A few years ago I set eyes on the most beautiful women I had ever seen"

Yukina could feel butterflies in her stomach as Kuwabara continued on. " It's been five years now since

I first met you." Cheza couldn't help but smile as Kuwabara opened up the little velvet box to reveal

a beautiful pearl necklace. "I hope you like it Yukina." Something hit the ground averting Cheza's

attention, her eyes caught site of a tear gem. Yukina was crying, but she knew they were tears of

happiness. "Oh Kazuma!" She embraced him in a bear hug, Cheza knew without looking Hiei was more

than likely glaring daggers at the two. She looked up to confirm her suspicions, but to her surprise Hiei

was not glaring at them at all. In fact, he looked happy for the two. As soon as he noticed Cheza was

staring at him though a glare spread over his face and he quickly looked away from the two lovebirds.

Youko winked at her, she could feel butterflies in her stomach when he did. She knew Yukina must

have the same feeling right about now. Cheza scooped trouble up and made her ways towards him,

wanting to give Yukina and Kuwabara some alone time.

" Trouble." Youko gave her a questioning look. "That's the name I've decided on." He looked down at

the owl, finally understanding what she meant, " Seems fitting enough." His arm wrapped around her

waist, "Lets head back inside kitten." Cheza looked around for Hiei, but he had already vanished, "okay."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

" I suppose your all wondering why I gathered you here today." Genkai scanned the room, satisfied that

everyone had actually showed up on time. Yusuke yawned loudly, "So what was so important that I

had to get up at 8 in the morning?" Genkai smacked him on the head, "patience is a virtue Yusuke"

Cheza was very curious to hear Genkai's explanation. Hiei, Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara, Kuronue, the

whole gang had been summoned. Cheza was torn from her thoughts as Genkai began to speak.

" Yukina's birthday is a few days away, I would like to throw her a party." "That's all this is about?! You

woke me up to.." Genkai bonked Yusuke on the head, "I wasn't finished dimwit!" Yusuke rubbed the top

of his head and grumbled something under his breath as Genkai continued on. " I would like all of you to

be here, Boton has already planned everything out. I myself will be leaving tonight, I will be gone for

a few months." "Where are you goinG Grandma!?" Genkai crossed her arms, " I have business to attend

to. I don't want to leave Yukina here by herself." Genkai's gaze fell upon Cheza, "Cheza I would like for

you to reside here until my return." Kuwabara stood up, "Hey! I am more than willing to stay here and

protect Yukina! " Genkai looked up at him, " Kuwabara you have school and other duties you must

attend to. You are welcome here anytime, but I do not find it necessary for you to live here."

Kuwabara was about to protest but Youko placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered something into

his ear, which caused him to stop and sit back down. Youko frowned, what was this old hag up to? Why

had she chosen Cheza? Having another female around would help Yukina from succumbing to

loneliness, but Cheza was not a suitable protector. Kuronue or Hiei would have been a much better choice, they

had no ties to this world and had nothing but free time on their hands. Youko came to the conclusion

there was something Genkai was not telling them.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Oh! She'll be so surprised!" Boton squealed as she rummaged through the numerous bags of

decorations she had bought. "Where is Yukina anyways?" Cheza asked. "I asked Kuwabara to take

her to the movies so we could get everything set up!" Cheza sighed and flopped down on the couch,

watching Boton as she began to decorate. Her mind wandered to Genkai, she had been suspiciously

secretive about where she was going…and why had she chosen her to stay here? When Genkai had left

Youko informed her that he was staying here to no matter what. Kuronue decided to stay as well.

"Hey! Give that back!" Cheza snapped out of her daze to see Boton playing tug of war with Alice. Cheza

couldn't help but laugh, "Alice! What did you get into now!?" Alice instantly dropped what she had

in her mouth and stared at her master with a look of pure innocence on her face. "Hey Boton! Hey

Cheza!" The two looked up to see Keiko and Shizuru smiling at them. "Oh! You're early! Wheres

Yusuke?" "He's outside sparring with Kurama and Kuronue." Keiko replied. "Well everyone's here then..

except for Hiei." Cheza smiled, "I'm sure he will show up..after all if today is Yukina's birthday that mean

its also Hie…" Cheza stopped herself before she finished the rest. "heh…umm…Keiko why don't you

come help me with these decorations!" Boton exclaimed, she hoped Keiko hadn't caught that.

"Oh..umm..okay." Keiko replied.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\

Cheza sat outside alone listening to the music and chattering from inside. Yukina had been pleasantly

surprised when she had returned home. Footsteps sounded behind her, she turned meeting with

a pair of golden irises. "Is something wrong kitten?" Cheza shook her head, "No..I just wanted some

fresh air." Youko sat down beside her and remained silent. The two watched as Alice pranced around

the yard. A frown suddenly appeared on Youko's face, she must know something is wrong he thought.

He had confronted Genkai about his suspicions before she left, all she had said was Cheza was in

grave danger and that he must not let her leave the compound. He had tried to get more information

out of her, but the stubborn old bat refused to say anymore. Youko took her hand in his, " you know

I will always protect you, right kitten?" She looked a little confused at his question but she nodded

anyways. The sound of footsteps sounded through her ears once more this time she was staring into

a pair of pink irises, "There you two are! Come on! Yukina's is fixing to open presents!"

She practically dragged Cheza back inside, "Don't make you drag you to Kurama!" Youko let

out an irritated sigh and proceeded to follow the bubbly blue haired women back inside.


	32. Chapter 32

" What a beautiful day!" Yukina exclaimed. Cheza and Yukina had decided to go into town to spend

some time with Keiko and Shizuru. "Wheres your sweetie pie, Cheza?" Shizuru teased while taking a

puff of her cigarette. Yukina giggled, " Kurama and Kuronue left early this morning to go see Koenma,

they told us not to go anywhere, but we thought they wouldn't mind us leaving as long

as we left a note telling them where we are." Keiko smiled, "well now that we're all together, what

would you guys like to go do?" Shizuru's gaze averted to her left, she could feel an ominous presence

nearby. She frowned as she locked eyes with a tall dark haired man. He smiled eerily at her before

disappearing into a nearby crowd of people. "Is something wrong Shizuru?" Keiko asked. Shizuru flicked

her cigarette to the ground, " no..come on lets go" The three exchanged glances before following

Shizuru down the sidewalk.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"hey over here..I found a note." Youko soon appeared in the doorway, his golden irises flickered

to a piece of paper in Kuronue's hand. "Spending the day with Keiko and Shizuru, will be back by

5 to make dinner." Kuronue read aloud. Youko frowned, "Damn it.." Kuronue glanced up at

the clock, "well its already almost four..I doubt anyone would dare attack them in broad daylight

anyways." " There is still a chance, a chance I am not willing to take." Youko commented while walking

towards the front door. " We can't exactly do anything about it..we stick out like sore thumbs!"

Youko growled in frustration, " Call Yusuke."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Shizuru and Keiko waved at their two friends as they boarded the train leading back to an area close

to Genkai's temple. Shizuru pulled out a cigarette and watched as the train began its decent. Her

eyes locked onto a passenger who was looking out at them with a sinister smile, it was the same

man she had seen earlier. A worried look appeared on her face and she turned to face Keiko, "

somethings up, call Yusuke." Keiko's eyes widened at her friend's sudden outburst, "what…what do you

mean?!" Shizuru frowned, "Please..just do it. I'll explain later."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\\/

Cheza's eyes fluttered open, the first thing she noticed was that it was dark out. She was still on the

train…it was stopped and there appeared to be no one around. She had to have fallen

asleep on the train ride home. Cheza scanned the seats around her after realizing Yukina was not seated

next to her anymore. Getting to her feet she made her way to the back of the train and to a door leading

to the next section. As soon as she opened it her eyes fell upon Yukina, she appeared to be sleeping

peacefully in a seat at the very front. Cheza was more than confused and a bit on edge, why hadn't

any one woken them up? And where exactly were they? She felt a bit comforted knowing Youko was

probably out looking for her, it was definitely way past five..the time they were supposed to have been

home. " I should have known that idiot can't do anything right." Cheza jumped and quickly spun around

meeting with a tall dark haired man. Closer inspection of the man made her realize this man…was not

a human, but a demon of some sort. "You aren't supposed to be awake yet." Cheza's eyes

narrowed, "what do you want with us?" " I only want you Cheza" came his reply. She took a step back,

"how..how do you know my name!?" The mysterious man took a step closer, " I know

everything about you." "Who are you?" she countered. The man appeared amused, " There will be time

for introductions later, for now I think its best you go back to sleep." Cheza watched warily as the man

fumbled around in his pocket, soon revealing a needle. In a flash he was mere inches from her, catching

her off guard. She looked down to see the needle penetrating her arm, "goodnight" was the last sound

to be heard as her vision blurred and she fell into unconsciousness.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

" Cheza! Please wake up!" Once again Cheza's eyes fluttered open. A pair of crimson orbs stared down

at her, fear permeating within their depths. " whats..going on?" Cheza asked while sitting up.

" It will only be a matter of time before he returns..we have to make a break for it!" Cheza soaked

In her surroundings, she was inside some sort of cage. She shivered, suddenly realizing the place was

ice cold. " The bars are completely frozen, with enough force they should give in now."

Cheza remained silent for a moment before registering everything she was saying. Getting to her feet

she kicked the bars and they shattered to the ground, leaving an opening big enough for them to escape

through. The two escaped through the opening and took off running, neither having a clue where they

were going. Eventually the two reached a door leading to the outside world, looking around Cheza

noticed the two were surrounded by miles upon miles of woods. The building they now stood in front of

appeared to be some sort of warehouse. "Going somewhere?" The two froze in their tracks, "Run"

Cheza whispered. They both took off, they ran for a good five minutes before Cheza came to an abrupt

hault. A sharp pain emitting from Cheza's right foot caused her to yell out in pain. "Cheza!" Yukina

quickly ran to her side, Cheza's foot had been ensnared by a bear trap. Hurriedly Yukina attempted to

pry the trap open, she could hear footsteps off in the distance. "Go Yukina, you can still get away.."

Yukina shook her head,"no, I can't leave you here." Cheza pleaded with her as the man appeared off in

the distance, "Please just go, the others are probably nearby..you will be able to tell them where to find

me..now hurry!" Hesitantly she obliged and took off into the woods.

" now look what you've gone and done."

Cheza watched as the eerie man before her knelt down and pried the trap open, her heart raced

as the pain only intensified. The man yanked her to her feet causing her to scream in pain,

" You shouldn't have tried to escape." He slapped her across the face sending her flying into the dirt,

" You better not try something like this again"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/

Yukina fell to her knees, panting heavily. Tears flooded her eyes, she was lost. Her heart sunk as she

felt someone place a hand on her back. She quickly turned, to her surprise it was none other than Hiei.

He looked extremely pissed off, "Where is he?" Hiei hated seeing Yukina cry, the pain and fright in her

eyes was enough to set him off. He would kill whoever was responsible for causing her tears.

Numerous pairs of footsteps could be heard running towards her, soon Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kuronue and

Youko appeared. As Yukina stared into Youko's golden depths she felt…scared. She had never seen him

look so angry before. A loud scream echoed around them, clearly the scream belonged to Cheza.

Youko was gone before anyone else had a chance to react. "Come on Yukina, I need to get you out of

here." Kuwabara said while helping the ice maiden to her feet.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Blood oozed from Cheza's injured leg, she glared angrily up at the man before her.

" The names Hector by the way" he commented while making his way towards her. He had

placed her on a large bed with light blue sheets. Cheza glared up at the man now known as Hector

as he cupped her face in his hands. " Hmm..you would make a lovely wife..too bad I've been ordered

to kill you." She shoved him back, "Don't touch me" she snarled. Hector glared back at her before

slapping her across the face, causing blood to drip from her mouth. Hector forced her head up

and proceeded to kiss her, " I do apologize, but I cannot allow any disobedience."

As their mouths parted Cheza noticed someone standing behind Hector. Her eyes widened as

she realized who it was, although he looked different than usual. The glare on Youko's face

could outdo Hiei's tenfold. The normal warmth and love in his eyes were gone, now they were

filled with anger and hate..he truly looked like the cold ruthless bandit legends spoke of.

In a flash Youko was next to an unsuspecting Hector, who was sent sailing through the concrete wall of

the room they currently resided in. Youko was next to Cheza in a matter of seconds, glancing over her

injuries briefly. "I told you not to go anywhere." Cheza looked down avoiding eye contact with the

fox. Forcing her to look up at him his glare intensified, the cuts and bruises on her face were clearly

the cause of his escalating anger. Hector soon appeared from the fallen rubble, spitting blood from

his mouth he looked up at the fox. " You must be her lover. I must say she's quite the kisser."

Youko vanished from her side and soon appeared in front of Hector. The fox slammed his fist into

Hectors face sending him flying back. Giving the man no time to recover he went on the offense once

more. Hector got one good hit, which sent Youko flying backwards. The two began to take part of

a stare off. Neither moved, just watched the other. A grin spread across Youkos face, " I could have

just killed you..but I wanted you to suffer" Suddenly Hector fell to his knees clutching his stomach.

screams of agony echoed off the walls, soon a plant burst forth from his stomach. Cheza grimaced

at the gruesome sight. In a matter of seconds Hector was dead. Youko's gaze left the lifeless body

before him and turned to Cheza. Without saying a word he reached her side and picked her up,

" I'm sorry.." Cheza whispered. The glare on his face softened, but he remained silent as he made

his way back outside and to the others.


	33. Chapter 33

Youko stared down at Cheza's sleeping form.

" You let your emotions get the better of you, Koenma won't be too happy with you, ya know" An

annoyed look fell upon Youko's features, which was directed towards Kuronue, " I don't care. The only

reason Koenma wanted him alive is to get information out of him.I have all the information I need

already." Kuronue stared curiously at the fox, " I had a feeling you knew more than you were letting on"

Kuronue crossed his arms, "well..lets hear it. Whats going on? Why is there someone after Cheza? And

who is it?" Youko frowned as he watched Cheza sleep," Its someone from my past. He's trying to get at

me by harming her." Kuronue appeared lost in thought for a moment, "hmm..thats a pretty vague

answer, you had quite a few enemies in the past"

"someone not of the living" Youko replied. Kuronue's eyes widened as a thought suddenly

crossed his mind, "it..it isn't who I think it is, is it?" Youko's eyes narrowed, " Wrath."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS SOONER!" Kuronue practically screamed, causing Cheza to wake up.

Trouble began to screech, having been awoken as well.

Cheza glanced from Kuronue to Youko, " we'll talk about this later" Youko growled. Kuronue frowned,

"This is serious, Wrath is one of the seven deadly sins! Do you know wha.." "I SAID WE'D TALK ABOUT

THIS LATER!" Youko interrupted. "Whatever" Kuronue replied. Cheza watched the bat as he left then

turned her attention to Youko, " Seven deadly sins..they really exist?" Youko sat down next to her,

"yes kitten, but you don't need to worry. You're safe here and I will protect you with my life"

"Are you sure about that?" Youko locked eyes with Cheza, " Yes. I am sure." Cheza looked away, staring

at the wall ahead of her. She knew nothing about the seven deadly sins, but out of all of them..Wrath

sounded like the most dangerous. "GREAT NEWS YOU TWO!" both cringed at the sudden loud voice

that practically pierced their ear drums. Boton appeared with a big smile on her face, " I have found

a way to transform you back into your human form Kurama!" In the reapers hand was a glass jar

filled with an odd green colored liquid inside, "This here will do the trick!" She held the jar up into the

air,trouble began to screech angrily. "Whats wrong with Trouble?" she asked while making her way

towards him. As soon as Boton had set the jar down next to him, Trouble had charged at it. The glass

shattered and out seeped the liquid. "OH NO! TROUBLE! " Boton wailed. Youko stood up, staring down

at the owl with curiosity. " It appears he wants me to stay in this form." A confused look contorted both

Boton and Cheza's features. "But..why?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza sat cross legged on a large wooden table that stand secluded in the very back of the spirit world

library. Endless book cases occupied the room, each towering a good 30 feet. "So, why the sudden

interest in the seven deadly sins?" Boton asked while handing over a large stack of books to her. " I

don't think Kurama wants anyone to know…so you have to promise not to say a word to anyone." Boton

nodded, " My lips are sealed!" " There was a reason that demon came after me, someone from Youko's

past is seeking revenge. This person…demon..whatever is targeting me to get back at him." Boton sat

next to her and remained silent, her pink orbs glued to Cheza. " and that someone is one of the seven

deadly sins."

Boton gasped, "what!?" Quickly getting to her feet she stared wide eyed at Cheza, "Which…which one is

It?" Cheza grabbed a random book and began flipping through the pages until she found what she was

looking for. She handed the book to Boton, she stiffened . "Wrath…." Cheza frowned, " I don't know

what Youko did to anger him..but I imagine he won't stop until he has his revenge." Boton's worry

filled eyes stared onward, "I met him once..he..he was once a normal human..all seven of them were."

"What happened to them?" "Boton!" A frantic George appeared waving his arms in the air madly,

"Koenma has been looking for you! He said…he said if I didn't find you within 5 minutes I would get

a 100 spankings!" Boton turned to answer but George interrupted her,"Comeon Boton! I only have a

minute left!" George exclaimed while pushing Boton towards the door. " Those books should explain

everything.." she commented as George ushered her out the door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\

Upon reading a few of the books Boton had shown her, Cheza had learned that Wrath was not a demon.

He was something else altogether, although he has the appearance of a human from several

descriptions she had read. That is, he looks human until he is angered. When wrath enters a blinding

rage he begins a transformation and turns into a horrific creature. Each of the deadly sins were once

human, but each had committed such horrific crimes that they had been killed and

transformed into their sins by some unknown entity. Reading more, she had learned Wrath had been

angered by his parents and had slaughtered them along with his baby brother. Greed had slaughtered

his family as well, to gain their fortune. Envy had been so jealous of her own daughter she had tortured

then killed her. The only one of the seven deadly sins that had not committed murder was Pride, she

could find very little information on Pride. Cheza snapped back to reality as the sound of a phone

ringing cut through the silence. Making her way to the nightstand she came upon Kurama's cell phone,

the name mother was on the screen. Cheza quickly answered and was greeted by Shiori's warming

voice." "Hello Cheza, is Shuichi around by any chance?" Cheza frowned, truth be told she wasn't sure

where Kurama was. "He's…not here at the moment, can I take a message?" Cheza wasn't sure what

excuse Kurama had given his mother for his sudden absence, " Oh, I just wanted him to know that I

got his message and that I won't be able to make it until six." A confused look fell upon Cheza's

features, "what message?" "I didn't answer because I didn't recognize the number. I was busy, but

I still would have answered if I had known it was Shuichi. He wanted me to come pick him up

from camp at 5." Cheza frowned, "camp?" * Oh that must be the excuse he told his mother, he's

supposedly out on a camping trip with friends. * Cheza thought. "Yes, didn't you go too?"

"Oh, of course..of course I did!" Cheza's eyes suddenly narrowed as a thought dawned on her,

Kurama had never sent her any message, he wouldn't have. He was still in the form of Youko.

"Shiori? Is it okay if I come by and visit you. I planned on leaving today,I haven't been feeling to

well, I think Im coming down with something. I would hate to ruin the camping trip for Shuichi by getting

him sick" Cheza didn't want Kurama to worry over his mother, She decided to intervene and prevent her

from meeting whoever this was that had left the message. She had an idea as to who it was, but she

hoped she was wrong. " Of course dear, I'll fix you something to eat when you get here. We can both

pick up Shuichi together later. "Oh, actually. Shuichi wanted to stay another week." There was a

moment of silence on the phone before Shiori responded, "I see. That is awful long time to go

camping." Shiori commented, obviously getting a bit suspicious. "Its…its not really camping to him,

more like a long needed vacation." Shiori chuckled, "Yes, I suppose you're right. Well, I'll see you when

you get here. How long will it take you to get here sweetie? I don't want your food getting cold."

"about an hour." "Okay, Goodbye Cheza." "Goodbye" came Cheza's reply.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\/\/

She had decided to leave a note saying she was going to spirit world with Boton

again and instead was meeting up with Shiori. She planned to stay with her until at least 8 to keep an

eye on things . That way his mother would be safe from any harm and Kurama wouldn't be constantly

worrying for his mother's safety as well as her own.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Youko glared up at the clock in front of him, " Do you know when she left?" Kuronue shrugged, " I don't

know, she was gone when I came home. " The two turned their attention to their left as Yukina entered

the room, " Have you seen Cheza anywhere? Boton and I are going shopping, we wanted to invite her

with us." Youko's eyes narrowed, " She's not with Boton?" Yukina shook her head, "No silly, neither of

us can find her." Youko disappeared in a silver blur without saying a word. He entered her room,

Trouble lay fast asleep. He scanned the room for clues as to where she could have possibly gone,

but found nothing. He eyed his cellphone laying on the bed, he had not set it there. Flipping it open he

scanned through his recent call list and noticed he had received a call from his mother. Slamming the

phone shut he got to his feet, she had obviously gone to see his mother. Another thought raced through

his mind, why had she lied to him about it? Perhaps she had suspicions that someone wanted to harm

his mother? Clinching his fists, he thought about Wrath. He was targeting Cheza, so why wouldn't he

target his mother as well?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"SHIORI!" Cheza cried out. Cheza began to panic upon seeing Kurama's mother's unconscious form

laying on the kitchen floor. Her eyes quickly shifted to the man in front of her, she knew instantly

who he was. " If you want a job done right, you gotta do it yourself. Hello Cheza, I'm Wrath. I'm

sure you've heard about me by now." The dull lifeless look in the man's eyes sent shivers down her

spine. She began to back away, how was she supposed to fight him!? She mentally kicked herself

for being so stupid, she should have informed Kurama about what was going on! " I love the taste

of blood." Wrath commented while pulling out a dagger. "Are you ready to die?" He lunged

as Cheza, who barely dodged in time. He continued the onslaught, she continued to dodge as

best as she could. It didn't take long for him to slice deeply into her flesh. She cried out as

the knife sliced through her flesh, leaving a deep cut in her arm. Her back slammed into the wall,

she was now cornered like a wild animal. Wrath laughed manically then proceeded to lick Cheza's

blood off his blade. "Enough!" Both eyes darted to the source of the yell. Youko showed no

emotion on his face, the rage emitting from his eyes was enough to give away how he currently

felt. A sense of relief washed over Cheza, Youko had come to her and Shiori's rescue. His golden

irises' glanced to his mother's limp form, then to Cheza. "Why hello there, Youko old pal. Its been

quite some time hasn't it?" Yoko locked eyes with Cheza, paying no attention to Wrath whatsoever.

Wrath frowned, obviously annoyed at the lack of attention. In a flash Wrath now stood in front of

Cheza, one swift blow sent her flying into the wall. "CHEZA!" Youko was by her side in a matter of

seconds. He noted she was now unconscious, rage began to consume him. Swiftly, he picked

her up and laid her down next to his mother. "They have nothing to do with this, we will take

this outside." Wrath grinned manically, "as you wish." Wrath took off in a blur and out the front door,

Youko stood fists clinched staring at both women lying unconscious on the floor. A second later he

to disappeared in a blur out the front door…


	34. Chapter 34

**Wish me luck, I am fixing to work 13 days in a row 0_0 yay!my bday is in 8 minutes! December 20th!**

Silence ensued, each stood silently watching the other. The two were now far from innocents, in a large

meadow near the outskirts of the city.

"You're the reason I am like this now…LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME! TO ALL 7 OF US!" Youko

closed his eyes, laughter began to erupt from the fox. "You blame me for your actions? You're still

an ignorant selfish child." Wrath clinched his fist in anger, "If you hadn't stolen that lamp for her…none

of this would have happened. YOU'RE TO BLAME!" The fox shielded his eyes as a blinding light

surrounded Wrath. Youko had seen his transformation once before, he was one of very few who had

witnessed it and lived to tell about it. Youko tore his gaze from Wrath after feeling someone place a

hand on his shoulder. He turned, locking eyes with his old partner in crime.

Kuronue said nothing, but nodded slightly as he readied his scythes. Youko chose his weapon of

choice soon after, his infamous rose whip. The sound of a sword being unsheathed rung through

the silent night, Youko looked past Kuronue to see another had come to help him. A pair of familiar

crimson orbs locked onto Youko's golden ones." glad you could join us" Kuronue commented. Hiei said

nothing, his eyes locking onto his target. The creature before them resembled a jumbled mess of

different animal parts. The beast resembled a triceratops more than anything, with the large three

pointy horns and jagged neck frill. This beast was clearly no herbivore, but rather a blood thirsty

killer. Wrath charged forward, his target clearly being Youko. After pouring spirit energy into

his scythes Kuronue took to the skies, soon landing on the prehistoric looking beast's back.

The bat managed to inflict a deep wound on the creature's head before being flung off.

Hiei was next to attack, his sword sliced through one of the three horns that adorned Wrath's

head. The loss of the horn clearly angered Wrath even more, for he changed direction and went

after the culprit who had severed it. Hiei dodged to his left as Wrath swung his tail at him. The

barrage of attacks continued on, Youko had yet to attack. The fox was studying Wrath's moves and

looking for a weakness. An overwhelming sense of unease was taking over his body, Wrath was not

using his full power, but why? Youko snapped back to reality as Wrath took off full speed towards him,

"I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!" he bellowed. The fox jumped into the air just as Wrath's horn was fixing

to pierce through his chest. He landed on Wrath's back and took hold of one of his horns as he began his

attempt at shaking the fox off his back. "ENOUGH!" Instantly Wrath stilled, all eyes turned to focus on

the shadow of a man approaching them. "You foolish boy, I told you not to come here. "

" I will not leave until I have my revenge!" Wrath growled. The man glared at the beast before him,

"You will do no such thing boy, leave now or I will kill you" Youko jumped off Wrath's back as he

began to transform back into his human like body. "Go" Wrath lowered his head, "but…"

The mysterious man came closer, " Envy is waiting for you, there is a portal to take you back home.

I do not wish to continue this conversation. Leave now" Wrath said nothing, glancing back at

Youko with a glare he turned back around and walked off. "Who are you?" Kuronue asked as he joined

Youko's side. Hiei remained in a fighting stance, his sword ready to engage in battle.

" I am Edward Glory, it is a pleasure to meet you all." The three exchanged glances, it seemed only

Youko knew who this man was. " Pride". The man smiled politely, " I suppose that is what most demons

know me as now." Hiei sheathed his sword, " The only deadly sin who is not a cold blooded killer"

Pride stared up at the sky, enjoying the company of the stars as he spoke. " The others have all lost

their sense of humanity, if they had any to begin with. You must understand, living…if you call this

living is a heavy burden to bare." Pride tore his gaze from the stars and eyed Youko, " The women

who set this curse upon us died many years ago and yet this curse is still upon us. No one can

reverse it, no one but you." Before Youko could reply, Pride pulled out a familiar golden

lamp from his pocket, " You remember this, don't you?"

/\/\/\/\/\/**\flashback**/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Heres the lamp you old hag, now give me what I want" Youko demanded. An old women with pale

blue eyes studied the golden lamp outstretched in the fox's palm. It was not ordinary lamp, but

the fox didn't know that. It was tiny, golden , and filled with magic. "Let me see it" Youko did as he was

asked and began to tap his foot impatiently as the women examined it. "Do you know what this is?"

Youko crossed his arms, "No and I don't care to know" The old women stared at her reflection in the

lamp, " My children never believed me when I talked about this lamp…" Youko followed the old

women's movements as she removed the lid to the lamp, black smoke erupted out . Youko watched

in disbelief as the smoke began to take the form of a ghost, a genie to be more precise.

"Why have I been awakened from my slumber!?" boomed a loud voice. Crimson eyes shifted between

Youko and the old women. " I have a wish I would like to make" the women replied.

" I have enough magic to grant one last wish, choose your wish wisely old women"

" I wish…" The genie held his hand up, Youko went flying out the door. " No one must hear your wish"

he explained as the fox slammed into a tree outside.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Youko stared at the familiar golden depths of the lamp, " Have you not brought forth the genie that

resides inside this lamp?" Pride frowned, "I have. He refuses to grant any more wishes."

"Yes, he used up his magic to grant the old women her wish." Pride nodded, "I know this, I have

spoken with the genie. " Pride removed the lid and out poured the ominous black smoke Youko

remembered seeing all those years ago. Kuronue and Hiei moved back as the genie took form.

The genie eyed the four men around him, stopping on Youko. " Pride, have you informed him of

our agreement?" Pride shook his head no as Youko's eye narrowed, "What agreement?"

" I will reverse the old women's wish, but it will come at a price." Pride moved forward, approaching

Youko. " He has agreed to break the curse set upon us by that old women's wish, but only you

can help." " so all I must do is wish for the old women's wish to be reversed" Pride nodded as the genie

spoke up, "That is correct, but I ask for one thing in return." Youko's eyes narrowed, "and what is that?"

" I have been trapped in this lamp for far to long. I have been plagued with loneliness and have never

felt love before. What I want in return is to feel love" "How am I supposed to help you feel love?" Youko

interjected. "By giving me your love" Youko frowned, " I'm sorry I don't swing that way." Kuronue

grinned at his old friend's comment. The genie frowned, " I don't mean it like that! You are in love, I can

feel it. I want to have that feeling..if only for a second! Do you agree or not!?" Youko did not understand

what he meant by this, but he agreed any way. It was far to out of character for him to agree to

something he did not understand, but he didn't see how any harm would come to agreeing. Afterall,

this genie was fixing to leave for the spirit world, he figured all the genie wanted was to feel the love

he felt for his mother..for Cheza before he departed. "I agree". "Then your wish is granted"

A loud scream emitted from Pride, all eyes turned to see him turn into a pile of bones.

Everyone turned to look at the genie, but he was gone. " Hn! It appears he turned them back into

their human forms, which by now would be nothing but a pile of bones"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Youko lay sprawled out on the couch lost in thought, he was worried about the agreement he had made

with the genie. All he had wanted was.."his love". Youko snapped out of his thoughts as a loud scream

came from Cheza's room. He quickly got to his feet to see what was the matter. As he entered the

doorway he saw Cheza holding on to her bed post as odd demonic looking hands coming out of the floor

pulled on her legs with all their might. Youkos eyes widened as the genie's words rang through his hand, * All I want

is your love" The genie had mislead him, he didn't want the feeling of love, he wanted his actual love!

Cheza! Cheza screamed as her grip loosed then gave way. Youko grabbed her by the arm and attempted

to free her from the creepy hands grips…but it was no use. Youko flew backwards, losing his grip on

Cheza and in a matter of seconds she vanished into the floor along with the demonic looking hands….


	35. Chapter 35

**Finally have a day off, I ended up working 15 days in a row 0_0**

Cheza awoke on her back, staring up at the stars and full moon a lit in the darkened sky above. A cool

breeze brushed against her skin, she felt completely at ease. Her eyes slid back closed, but suddenly

snapped open after the realization of what had happened to her earlier resurfaced her mind.

Where was she? What were those hands coming out of the floor? Quickly sitting up she realized

she was not on solid ground, she was on what looked like a gigantic flying great pyrenee's.

Cheza's heart began to race as the beast suddenly began to plummet towards the earth.

Snapping her eyes shut she clung to the white fur of the creature with a death grip.

Minutes passed before she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into the depths of a cave.

Hesitantly she jumped off the back of the beast, her feet hit solid ground much to her relief.

She assumed the creature wanted her to enter the cave, so she did. She walked forward, the only

source of light being torches aligned on each side of the cave walls.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"relax man, we'll find her" Kuronue commented. Youko didn't reply and continued to pace back and

forth. Where could she be right now? Was she hurt? So many questions raced through his mind.

"ahah!" Youko looked up to see Koenma holding a large book in his chubby little hands.

"The golden genie lamp is said to house an evil genie, once he has granted his final wish he leaves

his lamp and descends into the spirit world. In order for him to leave, someone must take his place

inside the lamp." the mini-ruler read aloud. Youko and Kuronue exchanged glances, "You're telling

me she is inside the lamp!?" Koenma looked up, " I believe so…" Kuronue placed a hand on Youko's

shoulder, "well we at least know where she is. Now its just a matter of figuring out how to get her out

of the lamp!" Youko punched the wall sending debris flying everywhere, "we don't know where she is! I

don't know where the lamp is!" he growled angrily. "HEY! MY WALL!" Koenma exclaimed.

Kuronue frowned, " it must still be in that meadow.." Youko vanished in a blur, not bothering to

respond.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza looked upward staring up at a gigantic tree that towered over her. She noticed something very

odd about the tree, it had nine roots. Three extended deeper into the cave, while five others

had taken refuge deep within the ground. One lone root oddly extended upward into the sky. The

branches of this immense tree reached so high into the air that she could not even see some of them.

Just how big was this cave!? Cheza caught movement out of the corner of her eye, one of the roots was

moving!? Wait..there were ten roots now?

Cheza took a step back after realizing this was not a root…but a tail. Her eyes widened as a colossal

dragon emerged from behind the trunk. Its large crimson eyes examined her, staring into the beasts

eyes seemed to paralyze her. She was to scared to move, she stood completely still. The serpent

apparently felt she was no threat for it disappeared behind the tree once more, paying no attention

to her whatsoever. The sound of a bird screeching flooded her ears, she averted her attention upward.

She could barely make out an outline of an enormous bird perched high up on one of the branches.

Where the hell was she!?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"The tree of life" Koenma stated. Kuronue gave him a puzzled look, "the tree of life? Inside the lamp!?"

Koenma nodded, "Yes. That is how the genie is able to leave. By following one of the roots that extend

into the sky, the genie is able to locate the spirit world. There are nine roots, each leading to different

worlds." "I thought there were only three worlds" Kuronue commented. Koenma shook his head,

" Very few know of the existence of these other worlds. " Kuronue crossed his arms, "well? What

are these other worlds? Demon world, human world, and spirit world…what are the other six?"

Koenma closed his eyes, leaning back into his chair he sighed. " I only know of a few more, the

rest are a mystery to even me." Koenma's eyes slid open, " What I do know is these worlds are a very

dangerous place for Cheza to be"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"You…You can talk!?" Cheza exclaimed. Cheza found herself staring at a squirrel perched on a low branch

of the tree. "Yes I can speak! Now do you want my help or not!?" "I..yes..can you get me out of here?!

Wherever here is…" The squirrel nodded, "Of course I can, its simple really…all you have to do is grab

hold of one of the roots and follow it." A confused look fell upon her features, " That's..it? does it

matter which one I follow? Will I end up in the same location? And where would I end up anyways?"

The squirrel placed its little paws on its hips, "Oh no my dear. Each root leads to a different world"

"Well..which one leads to the human world…or spirit world?" The squirrel began to scurry further up the

tree, "you must figure it out yourself!" it replied before vanishing out of sight. Cheza frowned, " I guess

I'll just have to pick a random one and hope for the best…"

Cheza decided to follow one of the roots that lead deeper into the cave. Grabbing hold of the root she

began her descent, to her dismay the deeper she went into the cave the less torches there were.

Eventually she was in complete darkness, all she could do is follow the root and hope for the best.

After quite some time she felt something brush against her cheek, she came to an abrupt halt. Soon,

she found herself standing in what looked like a gigantic garden…she was surrounded by... plants!?

/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Youko found himself staring into the golden depths of the genie lamp once more, it had taken him quite

some time to find it. "Open the lid". Youko's golden eyes locked onto Hiei, " What good would it do?"

Hiei gave the fox an annoyed look, "Just do it fox" Youko frowned, but did as Hiei had asked.

As soon as the lid opened a strong gust of wind hit Youko in the face. He closed his eyes and once they

opened again he found himself standing in front of a colossal looking tree. His eyes narrowed, he

was in the lamp…there were no other explanations. " I am bringing the lamp to Koenma's"

rang Hiei's voice through his mind. The sound of leaves rustling caused Youko's ears to twitch.

He waited in anticipation for the source to make itself known, sure enough it did. A little squirrel stared

at him with big brown curious eyes. "Two visitors in one day! How exciting! " Youko moved forward, "

two visitors? Was one a.." "A beautiful girl with pretty blue eyes! Why yes!" the squirrel interrupted.

"where did she go!?" The squirrel pointed towards a root, "that way!" was all it said before scurrying

away back up the tree.

/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Odd as well as many beautiful looking plants were all around her. Her eyes fell upon a rose bush,

these roses were far from normal. Some were green, others black, and some were gold. Reaching

out her finger she touched one of the black roses only to see a mouth full of mini razor sharp teeth

appear from seemingly nowhere. It bit her before she could react, blood began to run down her

finger. "Oww! What the hell!" she exclaimed. An ear piercing shriek caused her to fall to her knees

and cover her ears. She recognized that noise…

She looked up after hearing movement from the bushes nearby, soon an oversized venus fly trap

appeared, it smiled eerily at her. She looked down at her finger, had the blood attracted it?

She took off running, not bothering to look back to see if she was being chased. A vine

came out of nowhere causing her to trip. As she sat up she realized the vine had attached itself

around her ankle. She attempted to yank it off, but it only tightened more. She could hear the

venus fly trap fast approaching. "get off get off!" she yelled while pulling on the vine with

all her might. Soon the creepy plant made its appearance, its razor sharp teeth sent chills

down her spine. It approached her slowly, lowering its head until its teeth were mere inches from

her face. It snapped its mouth shut, causing Cheza to jump. Was this thing taunting her!?

She watched in horror as the plant licked its lips then lunged at her. She closed her eyes awaiting

for the inevitable to come. Tears began to stream down her face, her breathing heavy and labored.

Nothing happened….

Her eyes slowly opened upon hearing the plant whimpering like a dog. What was it doing?!

It looked frightened, but why? She turned to run hoping to get away while she could, but she

ran into someone. Her eyes wide she looked up expecting the worst, but much to her surprise

she found herself staring into a familiar pair of golden irises.

He embraced her in a hug, whispering how sorry he was to her. "Its okay kitten, I won't let anything

happen to you" he said while brushing away tears from her eyes. She held him tightly as she attempted

to get her breathing back under control. Hesitantly he pulled her away and looked into her eyes,

"are you okay?" She nodded, "where are we?" Youko frowned, " We are inside the lamp"

"what lamp?" she asked confusion written all over her face. "I'll explain everything later kitten, we

need to get out of here..this place is dangerous."

Youko looked around examining his surroundings. Many of the plants and flowers here were very similar

to ones in demon world. He was able to manipulate most of the plants into doing whatever he wanted,

but a few plants had refused to do as he asked. He feared there were other much larger carnivorous

plants in this place…ones he would not be able to control. Placing his arm around Cheza's waist

he pulled her forward, " Stay close to me" he ordered. She nodded and two began their descent

through the mysterious world of plants….


	36. Chapter 36

**Im sorry it took so long for me to update! Between school and work, I don't have much free time anymore! Thank you EarthsProtector for your awesome review!**

"Nepenthes..a species of carnivorous plants" Youko commented. Cheza stared uneasily at the alien looking plants in front of her. These plants were similar to ones she had seen in the human world. They had long narrow stems which were accompanied by a large broad pitcher like body. They each made odd gurgling noises, as well as hissing noises.

Turning to her left Cheza noticed another set of plants, these too appeared similar to a species of plant in the human world. "Dionaea Muscipula, don't get close. They are extremely aggressive" Youko warned. These plants had giant football looking mouths, filled with razor sharp teeth. Their outer shell colored lime green, while their insides glistened a bright red in the sunlight.

"Oww!" Cheza spun around after feeling something bite her leg. A patch of sunflowers swayed in the breeze, each one was now hissing at her. Youko glared at the plants, they immediately stopped hissing and began to whimper. Squinting her eyes Cheza walked past Youko, completely forgetting about the rabid sunflower that had bit her . "hey…what is that?" Youko's golden irises flickered in the direction she was looking, " I can't tell from here, but I believe it may be a pond"

"Well lets check it out!" Cheza exclaimed. The two resumed their trek through the mysterious flower world until they came upon it, a little pond. Walking to the edge of the pond, Cheza stared into the water, a vortex occupied the center of it. Before either one could say anything, ripples began to appear in the water followed by an ear shattering lion like roar. She could feel the ground shaking beneath her feet, "I don't like the sound of that." Youko's eye narrowed as the creature made its appearance.

Cheza's eyes widened, "A gigantic nep..nepen..what did you say they were called!?" "Nepenthes…" Youko replied while pulling a rose from his hair. " Why is it coming after us!?" Cheza replied while taking a step back behind Youko. Youko frowned as he glanced down at Cheza's leg, "You're bleeding."

The little demented sunflower had done more damage than she had originally thought. There was not much blood, but apparently enough to attract blood thirsty plants. The plant lunged forward, managing to avoid Youko and hitting its intended target. Cheza screamed as she was thrown into the air and into the pond. She was helpless to escape the vortex centered in it, before she knew it she was being spun around and around. That was the last thing she remembered…..

/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/

Cheza's eyes opened meeting with a pair flooded with worry. "Are you alright?" Cheza sat up with the help of Youko, "My head…hurts, but other than that…." Cheza began to shiver realizing for the first time they were no longer in the strange flower world. Youko placed an odd green tinted blanket around her, obviously he had made it from some sort of plant. "I don't know where we are kitten, but this is no place for us to stay." Any direction she turned, all she could see was snow. The only landscape that appeared different was a frozen lake off in the distance. "Maybe there's another vortex in that lake over there.." Cheza commented. Youko nodded, "I was thinking the same thing" Youko picked Cheza up and the two took off in a silver blur, reaching the lake within a matter of seconds. He released Cheza from his arms, she walked to the edge of the frozen lake and glanced down. A startled scream escaped her lips."Whats wrong!?" Youko asked quickly joining her side. His eyes caught site of what had frightened her, there were hundreds…hundreds of frozen bodies beneath the iced over lake. Every single one had their eyes wide open, fear emanating from them. The whole lake was one gigantic icy tomb, what had killed all these innocent people. Clearly they were all human, at least in appearance. Youko grabbed Cheza's arm and pulled her away from the water's edge. "I want to go home! I don't want to be in any of these creepy worlds anymo" Youko placed a hand over Cheza's mouth and whispered, "Be quiet something's coming" Cheza's heart began to race, Youko had used the word "something" instead of "someone".

Much to her dismay the ground began to shake and soon a prehistoric creature emerged. "A…wooly mammoth!" The creatures large brown orbs stared curiously at the two, the cloudy look in them gave the impression that maybe the beast could not really see. Youko relaxed from his fighting stance a bit before turning to Cheza, "I don't believe it has any intention of hurting us" The creature began to run full speed towards them, "Are you sure about that!" she exclaimed. Youko resumed his fighting stance just as the beast skidded to a halt in front of them. Bending down on one knee and lowering its head, the two instantly knew what the beast was implying. "It..wants us to ride it?"

Youko picked Cheza up then jumped onto the back of the furry creature. The mammoth took off running full speed towards the side of a large mountain. "WE'RE GONNA CRASH!" Cheza screamed as she realized the beast was not slowing down. Cheza closed her eyes once they were mere inches away from crashing into it. "Open your eyes kitten" Slowly her eyes slid open, she found herself in a tunnel full of colorful swirling lights. "We're in some sort of portal" Youko informed. The mammoth continued to run forward, all the swirling lights were making Cheza dizzy.

The tunnel seemed endless, but eventually it did come to an end. Soon, the two found themselves in front of the tree of life once more. "You found her! You found her!" Both sets of eyes fell upon a familiar furry creature. The squirrel jumped up and down on a low branch, "I told Polo to go get you, I was getting worried!" "Polo?" Cheza questioned. "I'm assuming you're speaking about the wooly mammoth" Youko commented. The squirrel nodded its head eagerly, "Yes. Yes." Cheza looked around, "where did he go anyways?" The squirrel scurried up onto a higher branch, "He cannot leave his world for long or IT will come, he is tied to that frigid place" Youko moved forward closer to the rodent, "What is this "IT" you speak of?" The squirrel looked hesitant to reply, " No one likes to speak of "IT" but I will tell you, if "IT" finds you, you will die" Cheza frowned, "Is that what happened to all those people…."

The squirrel leaped from the tree and landed on Cheza's shoulder, "You've seen them!? The frozen tomb!? No one has ever been able to find it" "How could no one find it? It's in plain site! Polo saw it, he had to of.." The squirrel jumped up onto Cheza's head, its bushy tail swiftly moving back and forth.

" Polo is blind, he cannot see anything. Even if he could, the inhabitants of these nine worlds are blind to "ITS" magic. There is a spell that keeps the place hidden" Cheza glared at the squirrel as it jumped off her head and back onto the tree, "Why would anyone want to find that place anyways"

"Those are our loved ones…our masters and friends are down there. They may have already passed, but we would still like to give them a proper farewell."

The squirrel jumped up onto a higher branch, " Now that you've found "ITS" tomb, "IT" will come for you."

The squirrels statement sent chills down Cheza's spine, "what do..."

Cheza stopped midsentence as everything around the three began to shake. Youko grabbed a hold of Cheza as the shaking became more violent. Was "IT" coming!? Cheza watched with terrified eyes as a violent wind picked up and began to shake the tree. Blackness overtook everything, a tingling sensation took over her body, soon she found herself in a familiar place staring into a pair of glaring red eyes….

"Hiei!" Cheza exclaimed. She had never been so happy to see him in her life! Cheza turned to see if Youko was beside her, expecting to meet with a pair of golden orbs she was taken aback when her eyes met with a familiar emerald pair. "Hey! You're back to normal Kurama!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "Hn! aren't you the insightful one" Hiei wise-cracked. "Why you little…" Kurama put himself between the bickering pair, " I see you have found a way to release us from the lamp" Hiei eyed the lamp sitting on Koenma's desk as Kuwabara responded to Kurama's statement, "Boton found some old book in the spirit world library, it explained how to get you guys out and everything. I gotta tell ya, that book has some freaky pictures in it." Kurama raised an eyebrow at his comment, "May I see this book?"

"Boton has brought it to Genkai's, she knew you would want to see it" Koenma piped up. Cheza frowned, he was being awful quiet…something was clearly on his mind. "I am glad to see you are both okay, now I must get back to work! So shoo!"  
A portal appeared beneath the duo's feet, without any warning the four fell through.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza leaned against Kurama's shoulder, the two were on his bed looking through the book Kuwabara had spoken of. The image of the poor lifeless people beneath the frozen lake came back to haunt her as she stared at the picture before her. The book's drawings depicted the image in her head perfectly, all the way down to the terror emanating from those poor peoples eyes. Flipping the page Kurama stiffened, an image of a creature is what had caused his anguish. Cheza knew right away this creature was the "IT" the squirrel had been speaking of.

Kurama quickly shut the book, not wanting Cheza to read the small paragraph written beside the picture. "Hey I wanted to read tha…" The look in Kurama's eyes was enough to cause Cheza to stop speaking abruptly. "It's getting late, we should try to get some rest" Cheza nodded, "umm..okay…"

Kurama turned off the light and slipped beneath the covers next to Cheza. She wasn't sure she would be able to sleep, but she closed her eyes nonetheless. A million thoughts were racing through both of their heads…


	37. Chapter 37

Big brown orbs moved back and forth rapidly, reading a stack of papers set forth before them. Koenma sighed as he stamped another paper, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he looked up towards the large set of doors that led in and out of his office."Kurama! I didn't hear you come in!" Kurama casually walked forward and took a seat directly in front of Koenma's desk, "I don't believe it is necessary for me to explain why I am here" Koenma set his stamp down on his desk, a serious look overriding the bored expression that had occupied his face only moments ago, " No, it is not." Silence enveloped the two, soon to be broken by the mini-ruler. " It" as what most demons have come to call the creature is a rare type of ancient shadow de…demon isn't the right word, err..I'm not sure what I would classify this thing as. Anyways, it has the same powers as a shadow demon, as well as many other unique abilities" Kurama frowned, "I've been around for quite some time, why have I never heard of this creature before?"

" This creature has been around long before you existence Kurama, it lurks in the shadows and is able to remain hidden if it so wishes"

Koenma leaned forward in his chair, eyes locking onto Kurama's, "Most demons who have crossed paths with this thing have died. I don't believe there have ever been any sightings of the creature in either human or spirit world, its territory appears to be the other worlds you recently encountered. Every demon that has been interrogated after coming in contact have mentioned something about yellow eyes. No one has had a chance to question them further, for they disappear or mysteriously die soon after. There is only one known survivor, I have tried to locate the demon..but no one has seen him for years now."

Kurama's eyes flashed gold, " The book Boton left for us at Genkai's…"

" Did you see your names appear anywhere in the book?" Kurama locked eyes once again with the mini-ruler, "Yes…there was some sort of riddle written along with our names. Care to elaborate why?"

Koenma's eyes flooded with worry, " I have heard rumors in the past about a young physic women who created a book to help warn future victims. From what information I have gathered, its victim's names appear in the text along with a riddle. The riddle gives clues as to where and when the creature plans to attack. Do remember the riddle Kurama?"

"That's what I was afraid of. How does it even know we found its lair and why could we see it when no else can?" Kurama asked avoiding Koenma's question. " Well, I found this to be quite disturbing. It can see through its victims' eyes. All those dead bodies you saw, their eyes were all wide open, correct?"

"Yes, every single person that I saw…"

/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza looked around cautiously to make sure there were no prying eyes before she began to rummage through Kurama's belongings. Soon, she found what she was looking for. The infamous book from last night. Curiosity was getting the better of her, she had to see what had spooked Kurama. Opening the book her eyes locked with those of the victims once more. She screamed and dropped the book as a pair of yellow eyes appeared in place of one of the victim's lifeless pair. After calming herself down she picked the book up once more, much to her relief the eyes were gone. Cheza turned her attention to the writing next to a picture of the "IT" she frowned as her name appeared in the text…

/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\

"I win again Urameshi!" Kuwabara exclaimed. Yusuke slammed down his game controller, "You just got lucky!" "woof!" Cheza yawned and turned her attention to Alice. Kurama had left with Kuronue, but refused to tell Cheza where. The fox had made Cheza promise not to leave Genkai's home at all costs and to make sure she came through with her promise he sent Yusuke and Kuwabara to babysit. "Hey guys, I'll be right back. Alice needs to go to the bathroom" she commented while getting to her feet. "I don't think Kurama wants you to leave our site Cheza" Cheza rolled her eyes, "I'm just letting Alice use the bathroom, I'll be back in a minute!" Yusuke shrugged, "Alright, but if you're not back within a few minutes I'm dragging your ass back inside!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Everything was shrouded in darkness as Cheza made her way over to a tree. Alice was prancing about off in the distance. Cheza thought back to the weird riddle she had read earlier that day.

" **lurking in the shadows late at night**

**All alone, not much of a fight**

**Bright yellow eyes will be the last thing you see**

**out will it come Cheza from the tree"**

She frowned, what the hell did that even mean? Cheza stiffened, she felt as if someone was watching her. She turned, meeting with a gigantic yellow eye located in the center of the tree trunk. She screamed, catching the attention of Yusuke and Kuwabara. The two came running to her aid in a matter of seconds. "Whats wrong!?" She pointed to the tree, Yusuke was the first to see the large yellow eyeball. "What the hell is that thing!?" Before anyone could react, Trouble flew out of nowhere like a bat out of hell and attacked the creepy eyeball with his little beak. A loud screeching noise soon followed and the eyeball vanished.

Cheza jumped as she heard a familiar voice. " Yusuke, I thought I told you to keep an eye on her"

"I think that creepy eyeball thing was doing a good job of that for us" Kuwabara commented, while looking more freaked out than anyone else. "and I thought Hiei's eye was creepy" .

Cheza turned to see Kuronue and Kurama now standing close behind her. "That thing can only get around in the shadows, we should head inside where it's safe" Kuronue commented.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

" So you're telling me some creepy shadow demon thingy is out to kill you guys because you found its secret hideout that somehow only you guys can see in some weird world you guys went to!?" Yusuke exclaimed. " Yes" Kurama replied casually. "So what does it plan do with all the dead bodies under this frozen lake you're talking about?" Kuwabara asked. Kurama shrugged, "I don't really know"

" Hn! isn't it obvious?" Everyone turned to see Hiei glaring at them. "Care to enlighten us then?" Kuronue replied. " It takes millions of years for "Its" babies to hatch, the victims are mere vessels for these things to feast on until they are ready to be born"

"You're saying all those bodies have some creepy shadow baby thingys living inside them that are slowly devouring their insides!?" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Think about it you fool, what better way to preserve food than to keep it frozen"

"I see. Since we found its "nesting grounds" it wants us dead to keep its babies from harm." Kurama commented.

" well, isn't that creepy and disturbing…so guys, what's are plan of action!?" Yusuke said while getting to his feet.


	38. Chapter 38

" I'll be right back my sweet! " Kuwabara exclaimed while walking back inside. Yukina and Cheza sat on the porch with Alice, talking about random things. "How are you and Kuwabara doing?" Yukina smiled, the happiness emitting from her face was as good of an answer as any.

"Kazuma and I are doing great, I…" The two both locked onto a man far off in the distance, " Do you recognize who that is?" Yukina shook her head no, Whoever he is, he is a demon. I think we should go inside and tell Kazuma" Cheza nodded and the two swiftly got to their feet and headed towards the door. "CHEZA!" Cheza stopped dead in her tracks as she heard her name being yelled. "It seems this man knows you" Yukina commented. " Yukina, could you please go tell Kuwabara. I think I will stay and talk to him" Yukina lingered by the door watching the man get closer, " Cheza, I don't know if that is such a good idea…" Alice placed herself in front of Cheza, baring her teeth. "Please, I'll be okay. Besides, Alice here has taken down a demon before, she will protect me." Yukina's large ruby eyes lingered on the man one more time before nodding her head and disappearing inside.

As the demon got closer Cheza could finally make out his features. The man was very tall and lean with a strong muscular build. His eyes were blue as the ocean and his hair as black as night. A staff lay clinched in his left hand. Above the top portion of the staff hovered a large crystal ball, surrounded by purple fire.

" I've been looking for you" Cheza took a step back, "Who are you and how do you know me"

Alice growled as the man got closer. "My name is Aztharot , I don't know you per say..but I have seen you in my dreams."

"What…kind of demon are you?" Aztharot smiled, "Why, I am a warlock. I thought that was quite obvious" The door swung open revealing Kuwabara, " Hey demon! How'd you get through all of Genkai's wards! And what are you doing here!?" Aztharot bowed, "Excuse me for intruding, but I am here to save Cheza, Kurama, and myself as well."

Kuwabara looked at Cheza, who only shrugged. " Does this have something to do with that creepy shadow demon thing?" Aztharot nodded, "Yes, in fact it does" . "You must be the demon Koenma spoke of, the only one who got away and disappeared from Spirit World's radar"

Cheza turned to see Kurama and Kuronue now standing by her side. Kuwabara jumped, "You're just as bad as Hiei! When did you get here!?" Kurama locked eyes with the warlock as Kuronue asked a question the fox already knew the answer to. "So why are you helping them, whats in it for you?" Aztharot moved forward, " I am trying to save myself by saving them"

"and how do you plan to go about doing that?" Kurama asked. Aztharot smiled, "funny that you mention that" No one had time to react as the strange warlock man slammed his staff into the ground causing a blinding light to emit…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza's eyes slid open, she found herself leaning against a tree. Confusion contorted her features, what had happened? Her eyes widened as she remembered the warlock known as Aztharot. The last thing she had seen was a blinding light coming for his staff. Getting to her feet she looked around, she was deep in a forest from the look of things. Were the others nearby? And where was this forest located, hopefully not demon world. She frowned, Aztharot had mentioned he was trying to help her, how was this helping her!? Cheza looked down noticing she was not in the same clothing she had been in. She was in an oversized red hoodie. "what the hell is going on…." She muttered to herself. She quickly snapped her head up as she heard a twig snap from somewhere nearby. "Who..whose there!? Kurama!? is that you?!"

She continued to look around, her eyes caught site of something lying next to the tree she had been leaning against. A brown picnic basket. Cheza looked around once more before making her way over to it.

Opening the top she found herself staring at various fruits. Rummaging through the basket she cut her finger. "Oww!" carefully she removed the fruits to uncover the bottom where she came upon her culprit. A silver knife, surrounded by a weird purple flame. The flames looked eerily familiar to her, where had she seen these flames before!? Her eyes widened, Aztharot's staff! Beneath the knife she found a letter, all that was written were the words "go to grandma's house, past the river and over the bridge"

Cheza frowned, was Aztharot trying to tell her something? Surveying her surroundings once more she noticed a river off in the distance. Maybe she was supposed to go to this "grandma's house" Picking up the knife she cautiously made her way towards the river. A silver blur caught the corner of her eye, she spun around but saw nothing. If she didn't know any better…she would have thought it had been Youko she had seen….

She continued to walk, catching site of the silver blur multiple times along the way. Finally she came across the river. Her eyes caught site of a bridge and little cottage as well, the door wide open.

Hesitantly she descended towards it. Upon reaching the cottage door she heard movement. "whose there!? Are you the one who has been following me!?" No reply followed. Clutching the knife in her hand she entered. A fire was going, but she came across no one inside. She felt relief, but it was short lived. A pair of arms wrapped around her, slowly she turned around.

"Wha..Youko!? no..you..you look different youre not Youko. Your eyes…they they're much bigger…"

"The better to see you with" they mysterious Youko look alike whispered seductively into her ear. "And your hands..they..theyre huge!?" The mysterious fox grinned, again whispering in her ear. " The better to hold you with"

"and…those teeth..they are so sharp…." The foxy look alike's grip tightened around Cheza, "The better to eat you with" Cheza screamed as the fox clone's nails dug into her back. She turned suddenly plunging the knife into the demon's chest. A loud popping noise soon followed and in a poof of smoke the creepy Youko clone vanished, leaving nothing but a strange glowing yellow Halo that clunk to the ground with a loud thud. Her heart beating rapidly she soon realized she was reenacting a famous fairy tale, little red riding hood. The fox she had just encountered was mere spitting image of Youko, except his claws and fangs were much sharper. His golden orbs were twice the size they normally were and his hands looked like they belonged on a giant. Cheza picked the strange Halo up, was Kurama reenacting a fairy tale somewhere too!? Was aztharoth behind all this!?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kurama's eyes widened as he examined his body, he was clearly no longer in his adult body. He had somehow reverted back to his 10 year old body. Kurama's eyes followed a flock of sheep lounging around in large open field, where had Aztharoth sent him!? Was Cheza nearby!?

Kurama stiffened as he caught site of wolf hidden among the bushes off in the distance. Hidden from view almost completely, Kurama had not noticed him before. The sound of voices flooded Kurama's ears, he turned catching site of a group of villagers headed in the very direction of the wolf. Eyes widening Kurama began to wave his hands frantically, attempting to catch their attention. " GO BACK! THERES A WOLF!" he screamed. The villagers merely laughed at his feeble attempts to warn them. "Tch! Always trying to trick us into believing theres a wolf! Can't he give it a rest already!" Kurama turned catching site of the wolf, who was now much closer than before. The fox swiftly pulled a rose from his hair, creating is infamous rose whip just as the wolf revealed itself to its intended prey. This wolf was like none he had ever seen. Its eyes practically glowed a golden yellow contrasting its black fur, it had to be at least 10 times the size of a normal wolf. In one swift motion Kurama's rose whip sliced through the canine creating a loud popping noise. In a poof of smoke the beast vanished, leaving behind a yellow halo. Cautiously the fox picked the mysterious object up, a blinding light emitted, the ground began to shake.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Cheza stood staring at a large house made up of various candies. The windows were made of sugar the roof made of cupcakes. A candycane fence surrounded the residence. The actual structure appeared to be made from graham crackers. Cheza walked forward making her way to the doorbell. The doorbell was made out of a large green gumdrop, the door appeared to be made from a giant block of chocolate. Cheza frowned, what fairy tale could this be? Her eyes widened as the door suddenly opened revealing a women who looked as old as time…


	39. Chapter 39

"Take a seat my dear" Hesitantly Cheza obliged and sat at a small wooden table decorated with a simple white table cloth. A bowl of soup was soon pushed in front of her, "You look hungry dear. I just finished cooking dinner, how about you stay and keep this old women some company"

Cheza stared down at the soup, was the soup poisoned? Cheza's eyes fell upon the old women once more, she looked like a typical grandmother. Surely there was no way this women had any intention of hurting her. " I..I guess I could stay for a while" came Cheza's response. A smile lit up the old women's face as she pulled on a set of oven mitts, " I made a fresh batch of cookies for desert!" Cheza examined her surroundings as the old women removed the tray of cookies from the oven. She frowned as she studied the pot her soup had been poured from, it looked an awful lot like a cauldron. Tearing her eyes away from it she scanned the floor, a pair of old raggedy looking dolls lay carelessly on the ground along with a half-eaten lollipop and few other toys. "Oh, so you have children! Where are they!? I would love to meet them" Cheza exclaimed. The old women jerked her head up instantly at her comment, " I do not have any children, they have all perished" Cheza cringed at the harshness emitting from the old women's voice. "I'm sorry ..its just I noticed all those toys on the ground and I thought.."

"No children have ever entered this house since the death of my own, DO NOT bring the topic up again" the old hen practically growled. Cheza frowned, clearly children HAD been here very recently. All the toys and the half eaten lollipop were enough of an indication, why was she lying about such a thing? The women placed a plate of cookies in front of Cheza and smiled sweetly, "I apologize dear, its just ..I don't like to be reminded of my childrens deaths." Cheza was beginning to feel more and more uneasy by the second, "I..I understand". "Eat up dear, you need to put some meat on those bones!" the old women exclaimed eagerly while pushing the bowl of soup closer to Cheza.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"What did you do to them!? Where's Kurama and Cheza!?" Kuwabara practically screamed while clinching his fists. Aztharoth hit his staff against the ground five times, an old tattered book with no title appeared, hovering over his staff. "Whats that?" Kuwabara asked while glancing between the book and the warlock. "It's a book full of fairy tales" Kuwabara frowned, "What the heck does that have to do with anything!?" Aztharoth grinned, "This isn't just any book. Its magical and can seal souls inside. Those who are unfortunate enough to become trapped are forced to continuously relive the fairy tales that are written inside" Kuronue moved forward snatching the book from the air, "are you saying they are trapped in this book!? I thought you came here to help them!?" Aztharoth nodded, "I am." Snapping his fingers the book swung open and began flipping through various pages until it landed on one story in particular, "Hansel and Gretal."

Kuwabara jumped back and pointed to the book, "That's..thats Cheza!" A black and gray moving picture of Cheza and an old women is what had startled the ginger.

Aztharoth nodded, "Yes it is" Kuronue frowned, "so tell me, how is this helping them?" Aztharoth snapped his finger once more causing the book to again flip pages until it came to the very back of the book.

"There's nothing here, just a blank page" Aztharoth nodded, "Exactly. I plan to trap "IT" in this book on this very page." Yukina moved from behind Kuwabara to examine the book, "How can you trap "IT" inside when there is no story to trap "IT" in?" Aztharoth turned his attention to the soft spoken ruby eyed women, " I have a story in mind, one I plan to write very soon actually"

Yukina stared down at the blank page as Aztharoth began speaking once more. " If things go as planned, the two will meet up in this final story along with "IT" . I have found a way to release their souls while trapping "IT" inside. Thus the creature will never again come after me or them and its offspring will die as well" Kuwabara looked up from the book, "How?"

Once again the warlock slammed his staff into the ground, a glowing yellow halo appeared. "I'm sure at least one of you have heard about these" Yukina and Kuwabara shook their heads no, but Kuronue nodded. "binding rings" Aztharoth nodded, "Correct. The two should have collected one each by now, they will need a total of 7 for this to work properly" Kuronue grabbed the halo from the air and examined it, " I see, you plan to use these to trap "IT" while Kurama and Cheza escape" Kuronue commented. " I will be able to open a portal for a short period of time. The binding rings will not keep the creature trapped for long, they will have to move fast if they want to escape"

"So the binding rings will keep the creature at bay long enough for them to escape, what if it doesn't work!? What if this creepy shadow thing escapes instead of them!?" Aztharoth grabbed the book from Kuwabara's hands, " I will be forced to face off with "IT" then, we can only hope it doesn't come to that. I shall return shortly, I have a fairytale to write" Before anyone could reply the warlock vanished in a poof of purple smoke.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I…I appreciate your hospitality, but I'm fine really" Cheza commented as the old women pushed her forward into a building outside of the candy house. This building was made of wood instead of various candies. "A shower will do you good my dear! " "But..I..I won't have any clean clothes to wear" The old women grinned, "Oh, you won't have to worry about that". The old women's words were creeping Cheza out a bit, but the women was holding her ground and clearly wasn't going to take no for an answer. "O..okay, but I really must be going soon" Cheza replied. "Hurry and get in while the water is still hot, I will return in a minute with some soap" Cheza nodded and hesitantly began to undress. Entering the cauldron looking bathtub her muscles began to relax, maybe she was worrying to much. Closing her eyes she continued to relax, eventually dozing off.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza awoke to find herself still in the bathtub. She frowned, the water felt extremely hot. She stiffened noticing her hands and feet were tied, she couldn't move! Panic washed over her and she began to struggle to undue the ties as the temperature of the water continued to rise. She screamed as loud as she could, knowing it was pointless. The door to the room slid open revealing the old women, only she looked different. Her skin was now a sickly green color, her nose more elongated and hooked, her eyes glowed red. This old lady was really a witch!

"Well well well, you've woken up. Thank you for making this so much easier for me, I did not think you would fall asleep" The witch grinned evilly, " You should be cooked thoroughly within a few hours, then I will be able to make a whole new batch of cookies" Cheza's eyes widened, thankfully she had not eaten any of her cookies. The heat continued to rise, tears began to stream down her face. " You will make a tasty meal" the witch turned to leave and when she did she was met with a surprise. Cheza watched wide-eyed as the witch began to scream in agony and melt before her very eyes until she was nothing but a green goo. Her eyes fell upon the door, "KURAMA!" The fox was instantly be her side and in a matter of seconds she was free from the now boiling water. Ripping her bindings off he placed her red hoodie on her and the two embraced in a hug. "I'm so glad to see you" she whispered while holding onto him even more tightly. Kurama pulled away and glanced down at her pocket, where the halo she had picked up earlier lay glowing. " You have one too"

Cheza pulled the halo from her pocket, "I killed this creepy Youko clone and it just appeared out of nowhere" Kurama pulled a halo from his pocket as well, "I was involved in a similar incident" The fox turned his attention to the pile of green goo. Making his way to it he began to rummage through the goo. " What are you doing!?" Kurama pulled a halo from the green slimy mess, "This makes three"

"What are they?" Kurama placed the halo in the water removing the green goo that remained attached to it, "binding rings"

The house began to rattle as the ground suddenly began to shake violently, Kurama held onto Cheza tightly as darkness engulfed them."Whats happening!?" Cheza screamed frantically. "I believe we are being sent to yet another fairytale. I have a theory, if we hold onto each other we will be sent to to the same place" Kurama replied.

Cheza nodded and the two held each other tightly, soon they found themselves standing together in a graveyard , a full moon lighting up the area around them revealing hundreds of tombstones….


	40. Chapter 40

" Elizabeth Godstone" Cheza whispered while crouching down next to one of the many tombstones around her.

Close by, Kurama examined a tombstone that stood out among the rest, for this one had a grotesque looking statue towering over it. The statue gave Cheza the creeps, it appeared to be a gargoyle. The large stone wings, devil like horns and talon like claws were a dead giveaway.

The text engraved in the tombstone was in a strange language, a language Kurama had not heard in so long he could only remember a few words. The fox was able to come up with the words; "stone", "guardian" and "enemies". His remembrance of the language was so jumbled up with another similar language he wasn't even sure he had deciphered the words right.

Cheza began to walk towards him when she tripped, landing flat on her face. She turned, expecting the culprit to be a root. Her eyes widened and she screamed as she noticed a pale green hand sticking out from the earth. It latched onto her ankle, Kurama unleashed his rose whip and turned to assist her when a red clawed hand appeared from the ground and grabbed his ankle. The ground the fox stood on began to split down the middle. Cheza watched Kurama with frightened eyes as fire began to spout from the grave he stood on, it appeared as if this thing was coming straight from the pits of hell!

Turning her attention to the hand wrapped around her ankle she kicked and kicked until it released its grasp on her. She scrambled to her feet as the earth began to split from this tombstone as well. The first creature to emerge was a pale green color, he looked human besides the sickly color of his skin. Was this…a zombie!? Cheza turned, wild eyes meeting with a creature that was clearly not human. The beast looked like the devil himself. A huge pair of horns adorned its head, a pair of wings lay crumpled up against its back, torn and covered in dirt. The beast was a pale red color, its eyes as black as night. Kurama turned his gaze from the creature to Cheza, "rose whip!" Cheza ducked as the whip like vine suddenly lashed out straight for her. A moan filled the night air, Cheza turned to see Kurama's rose whip coiled around the zombie look alike's torso, effectively pinning his arms to his sides. Green liquid began to seep out from the wounds inflicted by the thorns located on nearly every square inch of the vine. Smoke began to engulf Kurama as he began his transformation into the infamous king of thieves.

The pale green creature broke free from his bindings and charged at Cheza while the fox was in the process of transforming, leaving Cheza to fend for herself. Cheza did the only thing she could, she ran. The devil looking creature appeared in front of her mid run causing her to bump into its chest and fall. She turned hoping Kurama was done transforming, but as far as she could tell he was not. Turning her attention back to the beast before her she quickly covered her head and braced for impact as a clawed hand came right for her.

Nothing happened….

Slowly her eyes fluttered open. She expected Kurama had saved her, but that was not the case. The crimson colored beast had stopped on its own and was now looking at something behind her. Hesitantly she turned, her eyes fell upon the statue of the gargoyle that still stood perfectly intact above the grave the creature had come from. The gargoyle's eyes were no longer stone, a red glow was now emitting from them. Stone began to fall off the statue, almost as if the statue was shedding its "skin". Pale grey colored flesh took the place where the stone once had. The now alive statue shook back and forth like a wet dog, removing any stone that still was attached. Its wings spread out and without warning the gargoyle took to the skies. The gargoyle flew in a circle around the two, before heading straight towards them. The red winged devil growled in fury and turned to face the gargoyle, to Cheza's surprise the gargoyle attacked the red beast instead of her. A loud popping noise caused Cheza to jump, she turned just in time to see a binding ring fall to the ground. Kurama had taken out one of the creatures, one more….or maybe to more to go.

Yoko joined Cheza's side soon after gathering up the fourth binding ring.

"It appears these two are enemies, that explains the few words I was able to decipher on its tombstone."

The couple watched onward as the two wings creatures fought. The gargoyle lashed out and with one swift movement the creepy devil looking beast exploded in a poof of red smoke. three binding rings appeared in its place. Youko moved in front of Cheza and got into a fighting stance as the gargoyle's gaze fell upon the two.

Once again the creature took to the skies, but this time it vanished from sight and did not come back. Youko gathered up the three binding rings and added them to the collection. "We have seven of those now right?"

Youko nodded, "Come on we need to find a way out of here kitten."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Kurama…." The fox joined Cheza's side and examined the twin headstones she currently stood in front of. "Our…our names are on these tombstones…". The pale moonlight that exposed enough light for them to read the headstones vanished. The two looked up at the night sky, expecting to see the moon covered by clouds. What the saw was not a moon, but a familiar giant yellow eyeball. "No..thats.."ITS" here!"

An ear piercing shriek filled the air causing Cheza and Youko to fall to their knees. The two covered their ears as best they could, but Cheza's ears were now ringing after "IT" had gone silent. Cheza turned to see blood coming out of Youko's ears, clearly he was in even more pain than her.

Cheza placed a hand on his shoulder, "Kurama! are you o.."

Youko pushed her to the ground as a ball of black energy zoomed right past her head and collided with the pair of tombstones in front of them. Youko yanked her to her feet, she turned catching site of a creature that sent shivers down her spine. "Kitten, get behind me."

Cheza remained where she was, too scared to move or do anything for that matter. Youko moved in front of her after handing her the binding rings.

"It" was the most terrifying creature Cheza had ever seen. Its head was a mere skull with one yellow eyeball hanging out of its left socket. A flap of flesh barely clung to its left cheek, the only flesh left on its head.

Its torso was majority flesh, but a few bony ribs could be seen when it breathed in and out. The horrific looking creatures body had patches of short white hair which appeared to not be solid, but rather ghostly like and translucent. Its torso took on a humanoid quality, but one could tell this thing was clearly not human in any way. "Don't move" Youko commented to Cheza. Another ear piercing shriek flooded the night air, but this one did not come from "IT". A giant purple plant emerged from the ground. The plant lunged at "IT" and swallowed the creature up. No..it cant be that easy, Cheza thought. She was right…the plant split in two, sending purple goo in every direction. Soon, six more plants emerged, each of different species. A flickering blue light caught the corner of Cheza's eye. She turned to see a portal growing in size. Blue swirls taunted her from a distance, this was their way out..it had to be! But she couldn't move or the plants would attack her and she certainly could not leave Kurama here to fight this thing by himself anyways…even though she would not be much help. Glancing down at the binding rings, Cheza's heart began to race. Each plant met the same fate as the first one that had attacked. Youko lashed out with a rose whip she had never seen before. The vine was black and covered in thick 8 inch long thorns that were covered in poison.

"IT" hissed in pain as the decaying flesh that still remained intact on its torso began to melt from the poison on the thorns. Eventually Youko managed to entangle the creature in the whip. He was thrown back unexpectedly as the creature somehow caused the vine to explode.

"It" grinned and turned its attention to Cheza. She moved backwards as the creature moved forward. In a black blur "IT" appeared in front of her. Too scared to move, she was helpless to stop "IT" from reaching out and touching her. She screamed in agony as the creature made contact, her flesh felt as if it was being burned. Youko stumbled to his feet, panting heavily. A surge of anger came over him after hearing Cheza scream in pain, in a matter of seconds he made it to her side sending "IT" flying into a nearby tombstone. The fox had not attempted to use physical attacks out of fear that touching "IT" would cause instant death. Now that he was aware he would not die from making contact he was free to use more moves. Youko examined Cheza, finding her laying unconscious on the ground. He could feel her pulse still much to his relief.

His golden irises flickered in the direction of the portal, it was getting smaller and smaller by the minute. "It" got back to its feet and began to hover towards the fox. "IT" appeared to be immune to all the attacks the fox had used. Kurama was running out of ideas and time, soon the portal would close and who knows what would happen then.

Suddenly the creature shrieked in pain while looking up at the sky. Kurama followed its gaze to find the gargoyle from earlier attacking the giant yellow eyeball still in the sky. That was it…the eyeball!

"DEATHRAY!" The beam of energy shot forward straight towards the eyeball, in a matter of seconds it exploded. "It"screeched even louder than before causing Youko to cringe. He continued the task at hand and gathered up the binding rings that lay scattered on the ground around Cheza. Glancing at the portal, Youko knew time was of the essence. He had to move quick if he wanted to get out of here.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Whats taking them so long!" Kuwabara yelled while clinching his fist and glancing at the swirly blue portal in front of them. "Oh, Cheza please be okay" Yukina whispered with pleading eyes. Kuronue said nothing, his purple gaze remaining on the portal. A loud boom filled the air and soon the ground began to shake violently."Whats going on! An earthquake!" Kuwabara commented while pulling Yukina in front of him to protect her. After a few minutes the ground became still, once more and the gang turned to look at the portal, but it was no longer there. Kuwabara dropped his head, "No..they…they didn't make it…"

A soft "clink" hit the wooden floorboards the three were standing on, Kuwabara looked up to see a tear gem roll and disappear through a crack in one of the boards.

" Yukina…" Kuwabara whispered. Kuronue clinched his fist in anger and attempted to punch the wooden wall in front of him, but someone caught his fist. "Mr. Hiei!" Yukina exclaimed with teary eyes. " Follow me" The three exchanged glances before falling Hiei into Genkai's temple.

Silently they followed behind Hiei until they came upon Cheza and Kurama's room. Sprawled out on the bed lay an unconscious Cheza, Trouble sleeping peacefully on her chest. Beside her, Kurama who lay passed out from exhaustion. "How...I didn't see..when did they.." Kuwabara stuttered.

A contagious smile spread across Yukina's face, "They're okay!" she exclaimed. A faint smile fell upon Hiei's features, seeing that his one and only sister was no longer sad. Kuronue and Kuwabara were grinning ear to ear, "They did it!"


	41. Chapter 41

Yukina sat quietly on the outside deck enjoying the early morning sounds. Birds chirped happily carrying a soothing melody to her ears. The ice apparition appeared to be lost in thought. "Is something troubling you?" Yukina jumped, having not heard anyone approaching. Her large ruby eyes met with an emerald pair, "Oh, Kurama you're awake!" "I apologize, I didn't mean to sneak up on you." Yukina smiled politely, "No need to apologize…..is Cheza awake yet?" Kurama's gaze lingered on Yukina's belly as her hand lay absentmindedly on it, "Yes. She is getting dressed." Yukina swiftly got to her feet, " I don't mean to be rude, but I would very much like to speak to her." Before the fox could reply she had already vanished into the house. Kurama frowned, something was clearly troubling the girl.

"Hey Kurama, breakfast is ready if you're interested. " Kurama turned to see Kuwabara in the doorway. "Wasn't Yukina just out here?" Kurama nodded, "Yes. She went to speak to Cheza.." "Oh, well come on and get some breakfast, I'm sure you're hungry!" Kuwabara exclaimed while walking back inside, Kurama followed soon after.

The fox decided to inform the girls breakfast was ready, so he quietly made his way to Yukina's room where he sensed the two girls. He went to knock on the door but stopped suddenly, contemplating rather or not to ease drop. Deciding against his urges to listen he knocked on the door and soon was greeted by Yukina. "Breakfast is ready" Kurama eyed Yukina warily, she appeared quite worried about something. His gaze turned to Cheza whose eyes were wide and filled with even more worry than Yukina's. "Is…something wrong?" Kurama asked, his eyes not once leaving Cheza, who sat at the edge of the bed. "Yukina my love! Breakfast is ready! I made your favorite!" Upon entering with a big cheesy grin on his face, the ginger noticed something amiss. " Did I miss something?" Yukina's eyes fell upon Cheza, Kurama noticed the two exchange glances. "No, everything's fine Kazuma."Yukina replied softly . The two boys watched as Yukina made her way over to Cheza and practically yanked her to her feet. " Lets go enjoy the breakfast Kazuma was nice enough to prepare for us all."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\

The table was eerily silent as the four began to indulge in their breakfast. Hiei soon joined in along with Yusuke. Hiei had been observing the array of emotions that were making themselves known on the fox's face. The worry emitting from both Yukina and Cheza's eyes was driving the fire demon mad, something had clearly transpired between the three. Even more irritating was the fact Yukina had put up a mind barrier, keeping him from reading her thoughts. Not once had she ever put up a mind barrier, what was she trying to keep secret? Hiei's crimson glare landed on Cheza. Her eyes were down casted as she slowly ate her meal. Hiei tried to enter her mind, but for one reason or another he could not gain access to her thoughts. "Kurama" Hiei called out telepathically. Kurama quickly glanced in the moody demons way, "Yes, Hiei?" "We need to speak, follow me." Hiei suddenly stood up and began to walk away not saying a word to the others. "See you later sunshine!" Yusuke wise cracked. Hiei's only response being "hn."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"What is it you wanted to speak about?" Kurama asked. He was curious as to what this could be about.

"What is going on with Yukina? " Kurama frowned, " I don't know. She has been acting strange all morning. She went to speak with Cheza earlier and ever since both of them have been acting out of character." Hiei's scowl deepened, " She put up a mind barrier to keep me from reading her thoughts, she obviously is keeping something from us."

Kurama appeared lost in thought for a moment, "I have no idea what could possibly be causing their weird behavior, I imagine we will find out soon enough."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\

"Rose whip!" Kuronue dodged to the side as Kurama, in his demon form continued to lash out with his infamous weapon of choice. "Hey, Kurama!" Youko's ears twitched slightly as he turned to see Shizuru, Keiko and Boton standing off in the distance. "Have you see Yukina and Cheza anywhere?"

"They were both inside a few minutes ago" Kuronue commented. Yoko's eyes scanned the surrounding area, stopping short in the direction where a pond Yukina frequently visited was located. Without a word he vanished in silver blur, he sensed the two there. In a matter of seconds he arrived at his destination, spotting the two missing girls sitting under a large oak tree. " I may be wrong you know..it could be one of the other girls. Its just…you're around me a lot more and..well we will go today and find out for sure"

" Kurama!" Yukina looked up wide eyed as Youko came into view. " The girls are looking for you." Youko commented his golden orbs locking onto Cheza.

Yukina got to her feet, "Oh! Is it 1 already!?" Cheza's eyes met with Youko's, she quickly looked away and began to walk back towards the house. "We better hurry, don't want to keep them waiting any longer!" she exclaimed. Youko frowned, "Cheza we need to spea.." "There you two are!" Boton came into view, a big smile plastered on her face. "Well, what are you two waiting for!? We have lots of shopping to do today!" Cheza made eye contact with Youko, she was thankful Boton had appeared when she did. She knew he was fixing to confront her about her sudden odd behavior.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Shizuru took another puff of her cigarette while glancing back behind her. Keiko and Boton were happily chattering away, Yukina and Cheza walked at a distance behind them. She knew something was up with them, they had spoken only a few words since they began their journey to the mall. Boton noticed Shizuru staring intently at something behind her, so she turned spotting Yukina and Cheza. She came to a stop, Keiko did the same. "Are you two feeling okay? You've been awfully quiet today" Cheza forced a smile, "Yeah, we're ..just hungry that's all." Boton smiled, "Well then lets get some lunch!"

After discussing where they would like to eat, the girls settled on the diner Keiko's parents owned. After all, her parents had said they were all welcome to a free meal anytime they wanted. While sitting at the table waiting for their food Shizuru noticed Cheza kept staring out the large glass window at a convenience store across the street. "Hey… guys, I just remembered I need to pick up a few things at the convenience store, I'll be right back!" Keiko nodded,"Oh.. would you like me to go with you?"

"Actually, I would like to accompany her if you don't mind Keiko." Yukina interjected. Without waiting for a reply the girls got to their feet, "We will only be a few minutes!" Cheza commented.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\

"So…theres so many choices…which one do I choose?" Yukina scanned the isle, "I..don't know…maybe we should get a few different brands." "We should hurry, I don't want the girls to get suspicious."

"Suspicious of what?" The two jumped, neither having seen Shizuru enter the store. The two exchanged glances then turned their attention to Shizuru. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed the isle the two were down, " Which one of you is it?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

" I need to be getting back to spirit world, I had a fun time girls!" Boton exclaimed. "Yeah, I should be getting home to." Keiko commented. After the two left, Shizuru demanded the two come to her house.

Upon arrival the three were greeted by Kuwabara. "Yukina! I wasn't expecting you here..not that I don't want you here. Would you like to…" "Not right now little bro, we're busy!" Shizuru yanked Cheza forward leading her to the bathroom, Yukina following close behind.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Shizuru continued to pace back and forth while Yukina waited anxiously for Cheza to say something. Shizuru stopped pacing as the bathroom door opened, "well?" "Its…I..yes" "What the heck are you guys acting so secretly about?!" Shizuru crossed her arms, glaring daggers at the nosey intruder that had entered her bed room. "Nothing, now beat it!" Before he could reply her bedroom door slammed shut and she locked the door. After waiting to make sure Kuwabara had walked off she looked at Yukina then Cheza, "So both of you…but..how? I mean I see how Cheza is…but..did you and my bro.."

Yukina placed her hands up in a defensive way, "No, you misunderstand. As you know…ice apparitions live on an island occupied by only females, we do not need a man to reproduce. Once we reach a certain age or mother's take us to a cave located on the island, inside is a tree. The tree looks as if it is dead, but somehow it still is able to bare fruit. We are given a choice, eat the fruit and become impregnated…or.."

"You become pregnant by eating a fruit!?" Cheza interrupted. Yukina nodded, "Yes. " "So..you had to have eaten the fruit then? You wanted to get pregnant?" Yukina shook her head no, " I did not eat the fruit, actually I believe somehow you triggered something in me and I become pregnant that way. What I mean is..I believe you became pregnant first..which somehow triggered me into becoming pregnant…I can't come up with any other explanation…" "Shizuru!" Shizuru frowned, "I told you we're busy!"

"Kurama's here" Yukina and Cheza exchanged glances as Shizuru opened the door. " I sensed you all were here so I decided to drop by and offer to walk you two home, after all it will be dark out before you can make it back to Genkai's." "Good idea, it gets dangerous at night. There are a lot of creeps out there, you have to worry about more than just demons you know," Shizuru replied. "Hey sis, you think you could help me out with something for a sec?" Kuwabara asked, now standing next to the fox. " Sure thing little bro, well I'll see you guys later. I'll stop by tomorrow, okay?" Shizuru asked, directing the question at Yukina and Cheza. The two nodded and soon the three made their way to the Kuwabara residence's front door. Kurama suddenly stopped, "Shizuru, do you mind if I use your bathroom?"

"No, go ahead." Shizuru replied while walking off into the kitchen to help Kuwabara. Yukina and Cheza walked outside and waited patiently for Kurama to return. The fox made his way to the bathroom, as he began to relieve his bladder he noticed something in the trashcan, the only visible word being "test". After finishing up he decided to pick up the colored white box from trashcan, his heart began to race. A..pregnancy test? Was Shizuru pregnant!? His eyes widened as he thought back to Yukina and Cheza's weird behavior. No…it wasn't Shizuru…it was Yukina! Wait..it couldn't be Yukina…could it? He had heard stories when he was Youko, Kurama about the ice apparitions. The way they became pregnant was from eating some sort of magical fruit. That meant…CHEZA!? His eyes widened, his heart racing uncontrollably as soon as the realization hit him. He frowned, but that didn't explain why Yukina was acting so strange. Was it possible that…both girls were somehow pregnant!?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Hiei, Kurama, and Cheza sat silently once again enjoying the meal prepared for them by Yukina. Looking up, Cheza noticed Kurama staring intently at her. She said nothing and looked back down at her plate. Cheza tore her gaze from her plate once more, this time her eyes met with Hiei's. A weird look was plastered on his face, his eyes shifting back and forth between her and Yukina.

After dinner came and went, Cheza made her way to her room to feed Trouble. A few minutes passed before Kurama joined her. "Cheza.." Cheza turned to see Kurama staring at her with that same intense look he had been giving her at dinner. Smoke began to engulf their room, soon Youko appeared. "You've been hiding something from me kitten and I want to know what it is" Cheza took a step back, "What…are you talking about..I have not" The serious look in the fox's eyes indicated he wasn't buying her lie. "Cheza, you need to tell me now. If you are… I need to know. " Cheza eyes widened, "How..did you find out" Her question was enough confirmation for the fox, in a split second the fox was mere inches from Cheza's face. "Kitten…."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\

Once again Yukina sat quietly on the outside deck, the faint sound of crickets were the only source of noise. "Yukina" Yukina jumped, "Mr. Hiei!" Hiei sat down next to his long lost sister, silence ensued. Minutes passed before he finally spoke once more, "How is it possible?" "How is what possible Mr. Hiei?" Hiei's crimson gaze locked onto Yukina's large ruby eyes, "Ice apparitions only become impregnated from eating a certain type of fruit…how is it.." Yukina stiffened, "I…I'm not sure…" Once again silence took hold, the two stared upward at the night sky unsure of what was to come in the near future.


End file.
